The Dark Angel
by germanshepherd123
Summary: She was a legend among S.H.E.L.D., the youngest to ever complete Operations academy and to receive an S.O. she never missed a shot, and rarely lost a fight. Some think that she's a myth. Her name is Kaitlyn Robinson, and everyone thought she was dead. What happens when she comes back? Is she the same girl they once knew? Can the team save her? Or does it just take a certain Hacker?
1. Chapter 1

**Years ago in Bahrain:**

May turns around from where she's fighting against two men to see her partner go down "Kaitlyn!" She yells, the young agent grunts as the man she was fighting kicks her in the stomach sending her sprawling towards the window.

"Mel!" the blonde agent yells to her S.O. in fear, May sends a serious of hits to the men she's fighting before taking off towards the other agent. May is just about to reach her when the man stomps down on the young agent's hand with a sickening crack, the agents yells out in pain and fear as the hit causes her to lose her grip and fall. "NO!" Agent May yells as she knocks the man out, she stares out the broken window where her partner once was only to see darkness. May screams in both anguish and anger before taking off in a rage, killing the assailants she was fighting and freeing the captives. That was the night that changed Melinda May for the rest of her life.

 **Present:**

Agents Coulson sits in his office looking over the footage that Skye got from the facility where they tried to save Chan Ho Yin for the tenth time that night. Coulson rubs his hands over his face with a tired sigh as he looks at the blonde woman that he once knew all those years ago, one he thought was dead.

"God Kat what are you doing?" he sighs; he sits there staring at the frozen screen before looking up when May walks in.

"You wanted to see me?" she says, Coulson nods and motions for her to sit. The two agents sit in silence for a moment before May breaks it "Phil…what's going on?" Phil looks up at his friend before turning the screen towards her. May's breathe catches in her throat when she sees the girl. "Is that-?"

"-Yes." Coulson says "I don't know how but she's alive."

"I don't understand." May says "No one should have been able to survive that drop…" she says her eyes not moving from the screen.

"I know." Coulson says with another sigh "But it could be possible. We never found a body." He says, May shakes her head as she leans back into her chair.

"What do we do now?" She asks

"Now…We keep this quite." He says "We try to find her. And find out what the hell is going on." He says, May nods her head and stands to leave but stops at the door.

"Thank you." May says, Coulson gives her a small smile knowing how important this is to her before watching her leave. May silently makes her way to the cockpit, once inside she locks the door before letting the tears fall. The agent slowly falls to the floor relived that her friend isn't dead but also confused as to why she's working with the enemy.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't until a few weeks later that they heard anything about Kaitlyn it was early on a Monday morning. Coulson sighs as he stands up from his desk and walks out of the room telling everyone to meet in the briefing room in five minutes for a new mission.

Coulson waits until everyone is in the room before talking

"At 0-800 hours, three men and a woman infiltrated the Havenworth federal penitentiary." Coulson says as they all watch the surveillance feed from the prison of the men attacking guards.

"Infiltrated? More like cannon balled." Skye says when she sees them come through the hole in the ceiling.

"They were in and out in less then two minutes." He says "Left no prints at the scene, but we do have one lead." He says as he zooms in on one of the guys arms

"Centipede." Ward says when he sees the technology

"Seems they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong."

"So we were right." Simmons says "Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create super soldiers no fear of explosion." She says happily

"Maybe don't get so excited about it." Fitz says

"Two of Centipede's labs have been destroyed, but they keep popping back up." Coulson says "Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more."

"Who did they break out?" May asks

"Edison Po, Former marine, expert in tactics and rapid response." Coulson reads as he pulls up the criminal's mug shot. "Fell of the grid in '08, reappeared 18 months ago at a diner in Boston."

"Where he stabbed a friend's eyes out." Ward reads

"With a steak knife, then finished his meal." Coulson adds

"That's funny. Po doesn't look crazy." Skye says, everyone turns to look at her unamused "I'm kidding. They guy is a walking mug shot." She says

"Which means he shouldn't be to hard to track down." Coulson says "Finding Po and these Centipede soldiers is a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. We'll be running point, but we wont be working alone."

"What team did HQ send for back up?" Ward asks

"Not a team. A person." Coulson says "Someone who can help us fight fire with fire."

"Somebody we worked with before?" Skye asks

"Not exactly" he says before explaining who he has in mind. After explain his plan he orders Skye to run facial recognition against the people who broke Po out before heading towards his office. After a few minutes, May follows.

"What are we going to do about Kaitlyn?" May asks once she's inside

"I think we should come clean to the team." Coulson says "If we are going to be fighting against her then they need to know what they are getting into." May nods in agreement

"Do you think she's working with them willingly?" May asks, voicing the question that's plagued their minds since they found out she's alive.

"Honestly? I have no idea." Coulson says with a tired sigh "Its possible after all the technology we've seen that she's not but we wont know for sure unless we bring her in."

"What happens when we do?" she asks

"We'll decide that when the time comes." He says after a moment of silence, The two agents get lost in their thoughts. Thinking back to when they had to train the blonde and how different she seemed now based on the surveillance footage.

"I'm going to check the coordinates on the plane to make sure we are heading where we need to." May says, breaking the silence, before walking out of the room not waiting for a response.

May enters the cockpit and quickly types the coordinates in for the S.H.E.L.D. base before pulling out a tablet. She pulls up the surveillance footage from the prison and watches her former partner help a criminal escape. May pauses the video when her eyes catch something zooming in she sees that Kaitlyn's right hand is now a robotic prosthetic

"Oh Katie what did they do to you" May says in a soft whisper as she stares at the cold green eyes that were once sparkling. May's jaw locks in anger. Silently vowing to make whoever did this to her charge, who was like a daughter to her, life a living hell.

_TIME SKIP_

May and Coulson stand at the landing bay waiting for Mike Peterson to arrive.

"This is a bad idea." May says

"While I have you in a good mood, you should know that Skye's trying to I.D. the agent that dropped her off at the orphanage." He says "We agreed to protect her from the truth, So I told her you were looking into it." He says making May glare at him "She may come to you."

"One mistake at a time." She says as they watch Mike walk onto the plane and towards them.

"Agent Coulson, Agent May." Mike says in a way of greeting May glares at him before walking away without saying a word.

"Last time you saw her, you threw her into a brick wall." Coulson explains

"Right." Mike says "First time around, I wasn't who I wanted to be, but now I get it. Having all this it's a privilege. And training to be an agent, working with S.H.I.E.L.D., Its me trying to do better. Trying to be better. I just need you to give me a shot."

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Coulson says "But let me be clear- there will not be a third."

"Understood Sir" Mike says

"Good." Coulson says before leading him into the plane.

"Its not good at all." Ward says as they watch the video of Mike saving a girl from when they first met him "The guy was a ticking time bomb, literally."

"HQ wouldn't have sent him if he was still combustible." Fitz says "They must have found a way to stabilize him somehow."

"They stabilize his attitude?" Ward asks "Because it was pretty hostile in Union Station."

"Well its not like we haven't opened up our doors to other people" Jemma says looking over at Skye "People with questionable track records."

"Not cool, but True." Skye says "And don't worry about Mike. He's a good guy."

"Who's been in the Centipede program." Simmons says

"Exactly. He can give us some superpower backup." Skye says

"Just saying, this could easily go sideways." Ward says unaware of Mike and Coulson standing behind him "I mean the last tie we saw this guy, he was a raging homicidal maniac-" He says before pausing "He's standing right behind me isn't he?"

"Mr. Peterson, this is Agent Grant Ward." Coulson says "He's the man who shot you at Union Station. Fitz-Simmons designed the weapon he used, and I think you remember-"

"-Kidnap Victim." Skye says, Mike chuckles when he sees her.

"You joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?" He asks amused

"Yeah turns out guys in suits—not so bad."

"Look I know Union Station could have gone another way." Mike says "Another team might not have let me out of there alive. I owe you- all of you."

"That's bygones and water under a distant bridge far away." Skye says before changing the subject "How's your son?"

"Still with my sister." He says "He thinks I'm working construction, But he's good happy."

"So what do we have?" Coulson asks changing the subject completely

"Not much on Po." Skye says "I checked his previously known addresses and old military contacts—came up empty."

"We've been looking for where Po might be on the outside. Lets look at his life on the inside—at the Prison. See if that gets us any leads." He says to Skye before turning to Fitz-Simmons "Anything on the Centipede soldiers?"

"We found a facial recog match to two of them." Simmons says

"The girl was named Kaitlyn Robinson…she was a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent." Ward says "Why haven't we heard anything about this?"

"Because up until a few weeks ago everyone thought she was dead. Turns out she's not." Coulson says looking at the picture Ward pulled up

"You knew her?" Skye asks, Coulson nods

"She was a friend and May was her S.O." he says sadly "She was said to of died in combat...having fallen out of a window." He says his eyes glued to the screen "We never found a body but we knew no one could of survived that fall…yet somehow she did." He says, he stares at the photo for a moment before snapping out of it. "And the other?" he asks

"Names Brain Hayward." Ward says as he pulls up his picture "Stationed in Afghanistan for three years, then fell off the radar when he got back."

"Only living relative—sister, Laura, sophomore at the university of Ohio." Skye says as she brings up a picture of the sister.

"She's our best shot at finding Hayward." Coulson says "You and I will go talk to her." He says to Ward "Have May set a course for Cleveland."

_TIME SKIP_

"Hey" Skye says when she sees May "Coulson told me you were helping me to, you know, find my long-lost folks, so thanks. I'm glad you're in on this with me. It means a lot." She says, When May doesn't respond she continues.

"Right I can tell you're really into this." Skye says "Um I've done a lot of the heavy lifting already, came up with a short list. I thought you might-" Skye says and holds out a flash drive for May to take. May looks down at it before looking back up at Skye.

"We're on a mission Skye. Is this why you called me here?" May asks

"No." Skye says a little hurt, pulling the offered flash drive back "I was just working on this while I waited for you. Um I called cause I found something about Po."

"Show me." May says like it was obvious, Skye nods before leading her to the command center.

"Po only had one visitor during his prison stint—Her." Skye says showing the agent surveillance footage from the prison. "You notice the outfit? Miles said a girl in a flower dress asked him to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. This could be the same girl."

"Can we hear the conversation?" May asks

"That's the bummer-" Skye says "There's no audio, but its not a total loss. I was able to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lip-reading program, because we have one of those." She says excitedly with a chuckle but she soon straightens up when she sees May's unamused look.

"It didn't work on the girl because she never looks up at the camera" Skye says as she brings the lip reading program up "But Po did—Once—and it caught this." She says hitting play

"The Clairvoyant does not like to be touched." A computerized voice says creepily

"I wrote that down, so we don't have to hear that again—Ever." Skye says

"The Clairvoyant." May says

"Yeah." Skye says "Does that mean anything to you?" May shakes her head no

"But it means something to them—To Po and whoever that woman is."

"Her names Raina" A voice says, May and Skye look over to Mike looking at the screen.

"You know her?" Skye asks

"Yeah she recruited me for centipede, came up to me at the hospital where I did my back therapy out of the blue." Mike says "Told me she could change my life." She says as she looks at the blurry picture of the woman.

"Contact Coulson. Tell him what we found." May says, Skye nods before face timing him.

"We're running her through our systems." Skye says after she sent him all the information "Maybe we can get an I.D., but we're guessing she Centipede's recruiter and Po's her latest recruit."

"Three super soldiers dive-bomb a prison, pluck him out?" Coulson says "He's her number one draft pick."

"But why him?" Skye asks

"Centipede's making more soldiers." Coulson says "Maybe they want Po to coordinate them, lead them."

"His background's tactical strategy." May adds "He fits the bill."

"So these guys have super soldiers, an ex- S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, an expert military strategist, and a Clairvoyant who can see the future." Skye says "Anyone else thinking about switching teams?"

"They couldn't have a psychic." Coulson says "There are none on the index. They're a myth."

"So was Thor." Skye says

"Maybe its an alias. Run it through our database and see if anything pops up." Coulson says "Ward is approaching Hayward's sister now."

_TIME SKIP_

The team arrives Oakland, California as Mike, Coulson, May and Ward all suit up for their mission.

"Hayward's cellphone has been trace to an abandoned factory about eight miles from here." Coulson says as he walks down the spiral stairs.

"Probably Centipede's new lab." Ward says

"Certainly been there M.O. we destroy one factory, they set up another, putting us back to square one. This time I want answers."

"Means we go in quiet, do minimal damage to the facility and the people inside." May says

"Ward, May you'll go in through the west entrance." Coulson says "Mr. Peterson and I will enter through the loading dock. You'll run the back end from outside."

"We're doing this just us?" Skye asks "We've been playing whack-a-mole with these guys since Ward first picked me out of my van. Shouldn't big S.H.I.E.L.D. be sending in backup?"

"Trust me, they already did." Coulson says nodding towards Mike

"Lets move." May says as they pile into the van.

_AT THE FACTORY_

"We alone here?" Coulson asks them through the com

"It appears so." Jemma says from where her, Fitz, and Skye are sitting in the van. "The only heat signatures we're reading are yours."

"But there's a weird electronic signal." Skye says "I'm trying to isolate it."

"Place looks emptied out. Think we're too late?" Ward asks into his comm

"Fitz dial Hayward's number." Coulson says "Find out."

They all stop when they hear the sound of a cellphone ringing, they all look towards a blue Intermodal container. Just as the second ring sounds, the doors fly off to reveal Hayward. The marine pushes the container towards them, Mike quickly steps forward and stops it before it hits them.

"Sir you got company" Fitz says into the earpiece

"Yeah got it." Coulson says as he pulls his gun on Hayward

"Coming to you." Ward says, him and May begin to make their way over to where the other members of their team are, but stop when another container bursts open to reveal another Centipede solider. Coulson quickly shoots Hayward in the head with a I.C.E.R making the soldier fall to the ground.

Coulson and Mike look in shock when they see Hayward get up without trouble

"Usually packs a bigger punch." Coulson says

"Yeah I remember." Mike says before attacking Hayward.

Ward pushes May out of the way causing him to get punched by the soldier. May looks up from her spot on the ground to see Kaitlynn standing over her, no emotion on her face. Before the agent can say anything she's picked up and thrown across the room.

Coulson goes to hit Hayward with another I.C.E.R. but is stopped by another solider. The three soldier's look up towards Mike before slowly walking over to him. Before Mike can defend himself Hayward shoves a metal bar through his gut. The soldier's turn when they see May and Ward start standing up.

"Kaitlynn! Stop! Don't fight me." May says stopping Kaitlynn's approach to her, she looks at May with a look of pure confusion.

"Who the hell is Kaitlyn?" she says, May looks at her shocked. May sees something flash in Kaitlynn's eyes, almost like recognition before her body stiffens and she follows the other soldier's out of the factory. May tears her eyes away from her the retreating ex-agent and looks over to where Mike and Coulson are when she hears yelling.

"I wont say anything. I promise. No! Please! Don't do th-" Hayward's words are cut off by the sound of electricity of his kill switch being activated.

_BACK ON THE PLANE:_

"You okay?" Coulson asks as he walks into the cockpit where May is.

"She doesn't even know her name." May says her voice barely above a whisper "She's not doing this willingly Phil…. They're making her." She says trying to keep the tears a bay.

"I know…. I know…" Phil says placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. They stay like that for a moment before breaking apart. "We'll get them Mel. And they'll pay for what they've done to her." He says before walking out, knowing that she needs sometime alone. As soon as she hears the door shut, May lets the tears finally fall.

_TIME SKIP:_

A little while later they are all gathered in the command room coming up with a plan to get Mike's kid back.

"Ace for his father. They've set a time and a place." Coulson says

"Bloody savages." Fitz says

"They want to experiment on him to determine how he still has abilities" Jemma says

"And we're gonna let them? We've fought these guys before." Ward says

"We don't have a choice." Coulson says "The instructions they gave Mr. Peterson were very specific. I called HQ, told them to stand down."

"Stand down?" May says

"So we take them alone." Ward says

"We should at least have a hostage-rescue unit in support of this." May says

"They said they would murder my son." Mike says "If we make one wrong move."

"Any electronics, any comms, any sign of surveillance and they'll terminate the arrangement." Coulson says

"I'll give myself up, no problem, get him back." Mike says "I can figure it out from there."

"You're still recovering." Skye says "We can't just hand you over to them like that, can we?"

"Fitz-Simmons have a non-electronic method of tracking him." Coulson says

"Simmons has fabricated an odorless scent." Fitz says "I have an instrument which can detect it. Works like a bloodhound. Can track someone over 50 kilometers."

"After we make the trade, we'll be able to follow Mr. Peterson. Buy him some time to get his strength back. We'll find him."

"I don't care what happens to me. As long as my boy is…" he says but gets choked up

"I promise you, we're gonna get your son back." Coulson says

_AT THE BRIDGE:_

At the bridge, where the trade is going to take place. Fitz-Simmons place the odorless scent on Mike before he and Coulson head to where they are supposed to meet Raina.

"Your son is adorable, and looks just like you." Raina says once she meets them in the middle of the bridge. Coulson looks over to where Kaitlynn is standing by Raina's side staring straight forward waiting for orders. He forces his eyes to leave the girl he once thought of like a daughter and to the woman in the flower dress. "I don't believe I had the pleasure" she says looking at Coulson

"Lucky for you." He says

"I have to thank you Mike, for holding up your end of the deal" she says

"Lets make the trade." Coulson says "Give us Ace and you can have him."

"Oh that wasn't the deal." Raina says making Coulson look at her confused

"I'm so sorry." Mike says

"What's happening here Mike?" Phil asks

"Well in exchange for his son we asked Mike to deliver you." Raina explains, Mike shakes his head before lunging forward and grabbing her by the throat. Kaitlynn tenses and watches Mie warily but doesn't do anything.

"I'm not a full strength but I can still crush your throat. New deal!" Mike yells "My son for your life."

"Sadly my employer cares no more for my life than your sons." Raina says "If I die, so does he, and his death will be so much worse."

"You need to let her go." Coulson says gently laying hand on Mike's shoulder

"I told them they could have me." Mike says "But they want you. Why do they want you?"

"I don't know but if you kill this woman, you'll never see your son again."

"But how will I look him in the eye?" he asks "How will I explain what I did?"

"We talked about this." Coulson says

"I'm so sorry" Mike says as he releases Raina

"Lets finish this." Coulson says, Raina smiles before she turns around and waves her hand signaling to the other solider to let Ace out. Mike quickly picks up his son and apologizes to Coulson again before jogging back to the group. He quickly hand Ace to Skye telling her to take care of him before running back to try and save Coulson.

Just as Mike gets near the truck it explodes, Skye screams as more explosions go off. The team watch hopelessly as a helicopter flies away with their leader, unable to do anything about it. May watches in both anger and sadness now having lost the two people she cares most in this world to these insane people and they have no way of finding them.


	3. Chapter 3

Its been 36 hours since Coulson was taking, Han has taking over the plane and the whole operation in order to find both Coulson and the people behind the Centipede program.

"The burnt remains recovered at the site are believed to be those of Agent Trainee Michael Peterson. Other physical evidence has proven scarce." Hand says talking about what they found at the bridge since Coulson was taken. "Nothing relating to Mr. Po, his Centipede associates, or their location has been found."

"Any progress with Vancaht?" Ward asks referring to the arms dealer they caught earlier, believing him to be associated with centipede.

"Nothing actionable, Agent Ward, but I have my best interrogator in there right now." She says as she brings up the feed where Vanchat is sitting with another agent. "Vanchat will talk, and rest assured when he does, not a single stone will be left unturned until we take down Centipede."

"And find Agent Coulson." Jemma adds

"And get Coulson back." Hand says, they all look down when an alarm sounds and the S.H.I.E.L.D symbol flashes. "We have a security breach. Someone's hacking the system." She says, May sighs before saying who she thinks it is. A few minutes later they arrive at Skye's bunk.

"Just in time. Can you override this?" Skye asks holding up her wrist to show the silver bracelet that keeps her hacking in check.

"What do you think your doing?" Hand says

"The money's trail's our key to finding Coulson." Skye says "I just need to gain access to Vanchat's financials, and from there I should be able to trace Centipede's payments and then hack into their account."

"You're the consultant—the one who shot Agent Sitwell." Hand says

"Technically that wasn't me—" Skye says

"I want you off this plane immediately." Hand interrupts before walking away, Skye looks at her wide eyed before following her.

"What?" Ward says confused and shocked.

"Wait." Skye says catching up to her "I know I'm not some badass field agent like May or Ward, but this is what I do. You can't just kick me off this mission." She says, Hand stops and turns towards her "Listen, I will do whatever you say. All this protocol crap doesn't matter to me. All that matters to me is Coulson."

"Well 'all this protocol crap' matters to me" Hand says "You're a distraction and you're gone."

"Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are unorthodox, but she's a member of this team." Ward says sticking up for her "She can help." Hand looks at him before turning to May.

"Agent May, your professional opinion will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?"

"No." May says ignoring the hurt and shocked looks she gets from Skye and Ward.

"Increase her restriction level." Hand says to two of her Agents "Confiscate her laptop and phone, then have her delivered to debrief."

"I'll do it. I'm her S.O." Ward says, Hand nods before walking away. Skye gives May a 'What the hell?' look before following her S.O., May sighs and walks after Hand.

* * *

_With Coulson:_

Coulson gasps awake from his dream of him getting a massage in Tahiti, he looks around the dark cool room, his eyes linger on Kaitlyn who is standing there with no sign of emotion on her face before his eyes land on the man speaking.

"It seems you passed out." Po says "Now maybe you're ready to share what memories you're seeing." He says from his seat drinking a glass of water.

"I saw…Jordan…hitting the game winner over Russell in the -98 finals" Coulson says after he catches his breath. "So clutch."

"Agent Coulson, we're gonna turn the machine back on and open your mind." Po says "Its time to stop fighting it. If you don't you wont survive the process."

"I'll let you kill me before I give you anything." Coulson says defiantly "Seems you have a taste for that anyway. Murdered Mike Peterson in front of his own son."

"Mr. Peterson chose that end." Po says "We gave him his life and his child unscathed. You're just upset because that mans death hit so close to home, seeing a boy lose his father at such a young age. As you did. A defining moment." Coulson locks his jaw in anger "The Clairvoyant saw that."

"I hate to break it to you, but your telepathic friend is a fraud." Coulson says "Otherwise, he'd know all these answers, and I wouldn't be here."

"Its true this is strange. My friend can see that you died. You went cold. Your heart was torn to pieces. What the Clairvoyant can't see is what happened after. How they brought you back from the dead. For some reason, Agent Coulson, you're different." He says "Now why is that?"

Coulson looks up at him, not saying a word and just smirks.

"So we have to do this the hard way." Po says before motioning Kaitlynn forward, she holds up a cattle prod before jabbing it into Coulson's side.

* * *

Meanwhile Skye is tracking down Lloyd Rathman to try and follow the financial trail that coulsd lead to where they are holding Coulson

* * *

_Back with Coulson:_

Two guards drag Coulson into a room and handcuff him to the bed before walking out, leaving Kaitlynn to guard.

"Kaitlynn…" Coulson says breathlessly "Why are you doing this? What do you get out of this?"

"Who is this Kaitlynn?" she says confused, Coulson stares at her in shock much like May did.

"You don't remember do you?" he says, he continues when he doesn't get a response "We were friends once."

"Friends?" Kaitlynn says in an almost childlike voice as she receives flashbacks of her, him, and an Asian woman all laughing together.

"Yes friends….we were very close." Coulson says, before he can continue the door opens to reveal Raina.

"Come on Angel….We have a surprise for you." She says with a smile, Kaitlynn nods before following her. Coulson lets out a breath that he didn't know he was holding before he takes out a pair of tweezers that he took to the table when coming in and begins to pick the hand-cuffs.

* * *

In another room Kaitlynn sits back in a chair with Raina sitting in front of the door while two centipede soldiers guard the door. Another guard comes and hands Raina a metal box.

"Here it is." Raina says with a smile as she opens the box to reveal a prosthetic hand that's not metal. "Its just a prototype but it looks and feels just like a real hand except it has adamantium bone." She says holding it up to show the blonde.

"That man. Who is he?" Kaitlyn asks ignoring what the other woman was saying, Raina sighs as she places the hand down before leaning over to take off the robotic hand she's currently wearing.

"His name is Agent Coulson. The Clairvoyant wants us to find out how he's been brought back from the dead." Raina says as she takes Kaitlyn's robotic hand off and places it onto a table

"He said he knows me."

"Well of course he does." Raina says with a smile as she picks up the more life like prosthetic hand and places it near Kaitlynn's arm "You've fought him before." Kaitlynn doesn't even flinch as the prosthetic hand screws itself into her arm.

"No." Kaitlynn says with a shake of her head "Its more than that…He said we were friends." She says with a lost look on her face "Why can't I remember?" Raina sighs as she stands up from the chair before turning to the guards.

"Hold her down. She needs to be wiped." She orders, Kaitlynn doesn't struggle when the guards walk over to her and hold her down to the chair so she can't move.

"I'm sorry it has to be like this…. but we just can't have you remembering." Raina says as she pulls out a needle filled with a dark blue liquid and walks over to the blonde. Raina moves a couple strands of hair away from Kaitlyn's head to reveal a small oval pouch attached to her head, just behind her ear. Raina sticks the needle into the pouch and watches as it fills with the blue liquid.

Kaitlyn's whole body stiffens, she flies back into the chair as her back arches and her mouth open in a silent scream of pain. A few seconds later she relaxes, her eyes closed as the guards release her.

"Welcome back…Angel. How do you feel?" Raina says with a smile when she sees the blonde open her eyes

"I am ready to comply. What are my orders?" Raina smiles and opens her mouth to speak but turns to look at the door when she hears sounds of a struggle "It seems that our prisoner has escaped do you mind retrieving him for me?" she asks, without saying a word Kaitlynn walks out of the room and follows the sound of voices outside.

She catches Coulson just as he lunges at Po, Kaitlynn lifts Coulson off the ground by the throat not remembering anything that happened earlier.

"Shall we get back to it then?" Po says before he leads them back to the interrogation room.

Skye has found Lloyd Rathman and is using him to follow the financial trail.

Po raises his hand in signal for Kaitlynn to stop electrocuting Coulson.

"S.H.I.E.L.D's gonna find me before you break me." Coulson says once he's regained his breathing

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Po asks "Well the Clairvoyant sees an end to all that." He says before motioning to Kaitlynn to continue.

"He doesn't look so good." Raina says once Po signals to stop

"Raina, what took you so long?"

"I was tending to our other subject."

"The persuasion skills I've spoken to the Clairvoyant so much about would be better served here with me, breaking this man." Po says

"I would never use force to bend a man to my wishes." Raina says

"He's being difficult."

"He's being beaten."

"Into Submission." Po counters "The Clairvoyant requested it and will tell me to-" he says but is cut off by his cellphone ringing. "See?" he says he pulls out his phone

"Yes?...No…Well I've only just begun…My methods are sound. I assure you-…. Right here…Yes." Po says before handing the phone to Raina "The Clairvoyant would like to speak to you." He says

"This is Raina…Yes…I agree…Thank you…I'll put him back on." Raina says before handing Po the phone.

"Yes, I'm here." Po says but is cut off by the sound of the cellphone buzzing, Po's face begins to turn purple. The phone sticking to his face when he lets go, Raina catches the phone from falling when the buzzing stops and Po falls to the ground dead. Raina smiles before walking away and coming back with a glass of water.

"This is turning into an interesting day, isn't is?" Raina says

"So you're my friend now?" Coulson ask accepting the glass of water "Cause I've seen what you do to your friends."

"Mr. Po?"

"Yeah."

"He was a murderer incapable of remorse."

"I was thinking of Mike Peterson, Chan Ho Yin."

"I gave them what they asked for." Raina says "Mike wanted to be a hero to his son. Now he is."

"Did Akela Amador want a bomb in her head? Or what about Kaitlynn?" Coulson says looking at the girl in question whose standing by the door with a stoic expression on her face.

"The people you work for are just of using cruel means to reach a justified end."

"And who do you work for Raina?" Coulson asks "The Clairvoyant?"

"Yes." She says

"Who is he?"

"I don't know. Today was the first time I personally made contact." She says before taking a deep breath "My hearts still racing."

"He has you building super soldiers."

"The Clairvoyant gives us, guidance, formulas."

"For what?"

"The changing world, the world your organization brought upon us." She says "We're new to the business of what you've been doing for decades."

"So now what? You have soldiers?" Coulson says "You can make them strong, you can control them. In an instant, you can kill them."

"Yes but we can't bring them back to life" Raina says "You were killed. Now you're here. We want to know how. Don't you?" Coulson sighs and looks away from her "I'd like to turn the machine on again. It induces theta brain-wave frequencies to help uncover the secrets buried in the subconscious. If you cooperate you can surf those waves."

"I've gone surfing. That is definitely not like surfing." Coulson says

"You've been resisting. Fight the waves and you'll drown. Your brain will cook." She says "You'll stop breathing again."

"Then that's what it'll be, or I hold out until my team comes to find me." Coulson says "Either way you will not get classified intel form me."

"I'm not interested in those secrets." She says "The Clairvoyant can see within any agency, any government. He knows what the president dreams about at night. I want what you want to uncover a different secret…. The secret S.H.I.E.L.D is keeping from you."

"And you're clinging to the one thing you have fond memories of your recovery." Raina says

"So this person you work for told you I died and have gaps in my memory." Coulson says "Ever think your mind reader might just be looking symptoms online?"

"I was also told it keeps you up at night, that you crave answers, that you're troubled by the fact that when you asked for answers, you were denied. Isn't that true?"

"I trust the system." He says, wincing as he gets off the table "They keep secrets for a reason."

"But what would S.H.I.E.L.D. keep details of your death from you?" Raina says "They're your family, your only family since you've lost your mother too. Now after all you've sacrificed…"

"Sacrifice is part of the job." Coulson says from his place where he's leaning on the wall "I would give my life-"

"You didn't just give your life, you gave up your chance at a normal one, at love." She says "And she did love you, Agent Coulson."

"How could you know that?" Coulson asks his voice breaking

"Do you miss her? Dinners at the Richmond. Do you miss hearing her play? You didn't even have a chance to say goodbye."

"I-I couldn't." he says "I can't."

"She cried for days after S.H.I.E.L.D told her you died." She says "They shattered her heart with a lie, and now they're lying to you."

"No." Coulson says holding back tears "No they're not."

"I know you don't want to believe it, but you can't tell me nothing makes you doubt, makes you wonder what happened in Tahiti."

"It's a magical place." Coulson says automatically "I keep saying that."

"Don't you want to know why?" she asks, Coulson looks at her and breathes heavily before walking over to the machine.

"Turn it on." He says before laying down on it.

* * *

Simmons stops talking to Ward when her phone rings

"Hello?" She says

"Simmons its me." Skye says inside Rathman's car

"Why hello…Dr. Nugent." Jemma lies trying to fake who she's talking to

"Is someone there?" Skye asks "God don't try to lie. You are the worst at this. Remember our safe word."

"Manscaping? Oh I shouldn't have said that." Simmons says "Um I am as right as rain couldn't be better old chap."

"You three out." May orders the other scientists who quickly leave

"Listen up. I may have a lead on where Centipede's holding Coulson." Skye says, May takes the phone from Jemma.

"Skye?" May says, Skye stays silent "What have you found." After Skye tells May what she's found the leave to confront hand.

"We're about to lead a strike on a Centipede facility and you want to take your team to the dessert based on a hunch from Skye?" Hand says

"Its not a hunch." Ward says

"Skye followed the money from Vanchat back to centipede." Fitz says

"Turns out they recently purchased a small development less than 100 miles from here." Simmons adds

"Well that's great news for their real-estate portfolio, but we have confirmed activity at the lab." Hand says "I'm taking a strike team to investigate. End of story."

"So we split up." May says "You take the strike team and go after Centipede. We'll investigate Skye's lead see if Coulson's there."

"You backed my decision to kick Skye off the plane." Hand says

"Seems like it worked out." May says

"Seems like you played me."

"Look this isn't personal, but I am taking my team and we're gonna find Coulson" Ward says "Send backup if you want" he says before they all pile into a S.H.I.E.L.D. suv.

* * *

"What makes you so sure this machine will even work?" Coulson says

"It worked on me." Raina says before walking over to the controls

"One thing before we start." He says "What is it with the flowers?"

"Who doesn't like flowers" Raina says "I'm glad you noticed. Close your eyes and relax." She says before starting the machine. "I want you to think back to your first memory after you died." She instructs "What do you see?"

"Sandy beach, blue waves just as I remember it." He says

"Focus on the details." Raina says, hearing the sounds of a fight Raina nods at the guards before turning towards Kaitlynn "Go help." Kaitlyn nods before walking out of the room.

Walking outside she sees an Asian woman take out two guards, she ignores a brunette run by her into the house, only focused on the woman.

"Kaitlynn…you don't want to do this" May says, Kaitlynn ignores her and charges at her. May dodges and barely has time to duck under Kaitlynn's leg. "Okay the hard way it is." She says before throwing a series of punches at the blonde's abdomen.

Kaitlyn retaliates by swiping Mays feet out from under her, May rolls to the side just as Katelynn's fist hits the ground leaving a fist sized hole. May kicks the blonde away from her before jumping up, kicking Kaitlynn in the face.

Kaitlynn goes to punch her but May grabs her shoulders and flips over her, dodging the punch, May kicks the back of her knees forcing the blonde to kneel before slamming her head into the side of the house, knocking her unconscious. May stares down at the blond before bending down to pick up the small oval pouch, she looks at it in confusion. May pockets the object and glances at the unconscious blonde before running into the house to help Skye find Coulson.

May walks into the room to see Raina unconscious on the floor and Coulson begging for someone to let him die while Skye is trying to turn the machine off, looking around she sees where the wires are plugged in and walks over to them and unplugs them.

"Coulson, Coulson." Skye says trying to wake him up "Come back, Come back, Come back." She begs

"Skye." Coulson says panting, Skye looks at him tears rolling down her face both from happiness and from seeing Coulson like this as he keeps saying her name.

Back on the plane, Hand's people clear out taking Raina with them. Once Hand leaves the team all walk out to talk to Coulson

"I just want to say…Thank you." He says looking at each of them "Now get back to work." He says, they all smile before disappearing only leaving Skye and Coulson to talk. "I heard what you did for me. I think its time that we remove this." He says as he takes her hand and speaks into the bracelet "Disengage Bracelet." He says, the bracelet beeps before unlocking.

"Are you kidding me?" Skye asks unamused

"Thought you'd like that." Coulson says with a smirk, Skye chuckles as she rubs her wrist before looking back up at her boss.

"Back in that room did they learn anything?" she asks

"No."

"Did you?" she asks "I heard what you were saying."

"It wasn't real." He says "They were just messing with my head…but I appreciate your concern." He says, Skye nods before walking away to find the others. Coulson sighs as he thinks back to what the machine showed him knowing that he needs to talk to a certain doctor.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaitlyn wakes up with a gasp, she slowly sits up from where she's lying down to see that she's in an honey comb type room with black tiles. She winces at the harsh light, her head pounding.

"Oh God." Kaitlynn moans as the memories come back to her, everything she did to the innocent people, to May…to Coulson "Oh god Coulson." She says as she rubs her hands over her face remembering how she helped torture him. Taking a deep breath, calming her nerves like May taught her all those years ago, she asses her situation.

She knows that she's not with them, since she has her memories and there's also the fact that she has a semi-comfortable bed rather then the hard stiff ones they give her. Kaitlynn stands up straight when she hears the door click, preparing for anything, the door opens to reveal Coulson standing there.

"Coulson." Kaitlynn sighs in relief as she relaxes her stance.

"You remember." Coulson says staring at her, Kaitlynn nods

"I'm sorry…" she says her voice breaking "I'm so so sorry…" she cries, Coulson quickly walks over to her and raps her into a hug. Kaitlynn raps her arms around him as she cries into his shoulder "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Its my fault…I'm so sorry" she cries

"Shhhh…Its okay. Your safe." Coulson whispers as her smoothes out the blonde's hair trying to calm her down.

After a few minutes Kaitlynn calms down enough for them to talk

"What happened?" Coulson asks, Kaitlynn shrugs as she wipes her tears away

"I don't know…one moment I was fighting along side May when I fell out a window and then…" she trails off as she remembers her last night of freedom before they captured her, tortured her, experimented on her before turning her into a killing machine

"Then what?" Coulson asks pulling her out of her memories

"Then nothing." She lies not wanting to talk about what they did to her "I woke up here." Coulson stares at her for a moment before nodding his head.

"Okay…" he says "I want you to get checked out by medical. Make sure your okay." Kaitlynn nods as she stands up to follow Coulson out.

"Coulson…" Kaitlynn asks "Is May…?" she says but stops afraid that her S.O. is dead.

"May's fine." Coulson says with a small smile "She'll meet us later." Kaitlynn smiles before following Coulson out.

"How long have I been out for?" The blonde asks as she follows the man she looked up to as a father down a series of turns

"About a day." Coulson says as they come to a stop in front of the lab "Kaitlynn this is Simmons and Fitz." he says when they enter the lab pointing to each scientist.

"Hey" Kaitlynn says with a small smile with an awkward wave

"Hi." Fitz says as he gives her a small wave back

"Well hello there." Simmons says as she walks up to the blonde to shake her hand "My names Simmons…but he already said that." She says, Kaitlynn smiles at the girl's nervousness as she shakes her hand.

"Kaitlynn Robinson." Kaitlynn says as they release hands, she clears her throat awkwardly when she sees everyones eyes on her "So um…Coulson said you guys needed to run some tests?"

"Oh yes…" Simmons said as she walks away rambling about science, Kaitlyn smirks as she turns to look at Coulson whose smiles at the sight of his team and the young woman he sees as a daughter.

"I'll leave you to it. Call me if you have any problems." He says "Kaitlynn come find me when your done." he says before leaving

"Okay…" Kate says as she looks around the lab "Where do you want me?"

"The table should suffice." Jemma says not looking up from where she's gathering the materials she'll need. Kaitlynn nods as she walks over to the table and sits on top of it.

"Fitz right?" Kate says looking at the guy whose tinkering with something on another table.

"Yeah. Yeah that me." He says nervously

"So what do you do here Fitz?"

"I'm a-a engineer…Its really just tinkering really" He says as he hold up something he's working on, Kaitlynn nods.

"Okay…first I'll just take some blood samples before we move onto to x-rays and such." Simmons says as she comes back over

"Whatever you say doc" Kaitlynn says as she holds out her arm, Jemma gives her a small smile before she draws two vials of blood. They spend the next hour doing tests, before they finally finish.

"Okay I think that's everything." Jemma says, Kaitlynn nods as she jumps off the table "Do you need me to call Coulson? Or I can-"

"Jemma…I'm sure Ill be fine." Kaitlynn interrupts her babbling "I'm sure I can find my way around." She says with a small smile before walking out of medical looking for either Coulson or her S.O.

Kaitlynn sighs as she walks around the plane, thinking back to everything Hydra made her do. She's pulled out of her thoughts when she bumps into something or rather someone.

"Oh sorry." A voice says, Kaitlynn looks down to see a pair of brown eyes looking at her

"No…its my fault. My head was somewhere else." Kaitlynn says, the two girls stare at each other for a moment. "I'm Kaitlynn."

"Skye." The brunette says shaking the blonde's hand, Kaitlynn raises an eyebrow at the unusual name "I didn't like my name. So I changed it." She explains, the blonde nods in understanding.

"So you're the famous Kaitlynn Robinson?" Skye says with a smirk, Kaitlynn arches an eyebrow matching the smirk.

"Famous huh?" Skye nods

"A little birdy told me that you used to be a pretty big deal back in the day." Skye says making Kaitlynn chuckle.

"Well don't believe everything you hear." The blonde says making Skye's smirk grow into a smile and Kaitlynn decided that she like seeing Skye smile. Skye opens her mouth to say something but is cut off by another voice.

"Kaitlynn." Both girls turn around to see May standing there, her eyes glued on her trainee. Kaitlynn clears her throat as she walks over to her S.O.

"May I-" she starts but is cut off by a slap to the back of the head

"Don't you ever do something that stupid again." May warns, Kaitlynn goes to say something but is again cut off when May pulls her into a hug "I'm glad your alive." She whispers, Kaitlyn smiles slightly as she hugs the older agent back.

"Yeah me too." Kaitlynn says with a small laugh as they pull apart "So how's Andy?"

"Gone." May says, seeing Kaitlyn's confused look she nods behind her where Skye is now joined by a man close to their age and Simmons and Fitz "I'll tell you later." She says, Kaitlynn nods her head in understanding "For now though…this is the team. You've already met Skye, this is Fitz- Simmons and Agent Ward."

"Its amazing to be working with you 'Angel'" Ward says using the nickname they gave her at the academy, Kaitlynn's face hardens

"Don't ever call me that." She says, making the team look at her in shock at the sudden shift in personality.

"How about we all just relax…" Skye says trying to get rid of the awkwardness "Maybe get to know each other a little?" Kaitlynn nods

"Sure." Kaitlynn says as she follows the rest of the team to a couched area "So what do you guys do?"

"I'm a hacktivist" Skye says

"How in the hell did Coulson come by you?" Kaitlynn asks

"I may of tried to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s classified files and released them to the public." She says making Kaitlynn chuckle.

"And Coulson recruited you?" Skye nods "That's just like him." The blonde says with a shake of her head "What about you Mr. dark and broody?" she asks Ward making the team snicker.

"I'm a specialist." Ward says, Kaitlynn nods before turning to May. May raises an eyebrow at her

"Are you going to share Agent May?" Kaitlynn asks with an innocent smile, May rolls her eyes

"I pilot the bus." She says, Kaitlynn's eyes widen

"Wait. Seriously?" she asks shocked, May nods "Coulson must be crazy if he's not putting you into the field."

"I chose not to be in the field." May says, Kaitlynn opens her mouth to say something but is stopped when May shoots her a look. The two agents stare at each other, silently having a conversation before nodding her head.

"Okay then." She says before turning back to the team whose staring at them confused "Well I'm Kaitlynn. You can call me Kate for short. And I'm an agent." She says "So any questions?"

"Your hand." Jemma says "Its amazing…I have never seen anything like it. Where did you acquire it?" Kaitlynn looks down at her right hand, slowly rubbing her left over it before speaking

"Raina gave it to me." She says "Said it was a gift. I'm sorry but I have no idea where she got it." The blonde says

"Can you feel with it?" Skye asks, Kaitlynn nods

"Its strange…Its just a prosthetic yet it works and feels like a real hand" she says as she flexes it "Its just like Raina said…the only thing that's different is the bone…it's adamantium." she says as she looks back down at her hand, thinking back to how she lost it.

"I think that's enough bonding." May says before standing up "Come on Kaitlynn…I'll take you back to your room." Kaitlynn nods as she stands up from the couch.

"It was nice meeting all of you." She says before following May, leaving the rest of the team to think about their new team member.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

A few hours later, Coulson comes into the lab where Jemma and Fitz are looking over Kaitlynn's results.

"What have you got?" he asks

"Kaitlynn has many fractures all over her body, that have been healed over time." Jemma says as she pulls up the x-rays to show how many broken bones she's had over the years "She also has multiple scars on her body, most of them on her back." She says softly "Most of them have already been recorded into her file previous to her 'death' but there are a lot that are new."

"Anything else?" Coulson says angry at what these people did.

"No." Jemma says "Other than her prosthetic. She is perfectly healthy."

"Any news about the device May found on her head?"

"As far as we can tell its some type of container" Fitz says as he pulls up the schematics for the device "Every time she tried to remember something it would release a serum directly into her cerebrum."

"Do we know what she was injected with?"

"As far as we can tell it's a number of different chemicals mixed together." Jemma says

"It was designed to suppress any memories she had" Fitz adds

"Why suppress though?" Coulson asks thinking out loud "Why not erase the mind completely?"

"Maybe they thought they could use what she knows about S.H.I.E.L.D. later on." Simmons says

"Maybe." Coulson says as he looks at the x-rays, after a few minutes he sighs "Let me know If you find anything new."

"Yes sir." Jemma and Fitz says as they watch their boss leave.

"Poor Kaitlynn." Jemma says as she looks up at the screen "I can't even begin to imagine what she's been through."

"Well at least she's out of that place and with us." Fitz says trying to cheer his friend up

"Yes…she's back where she belongs." Jemma says

* * *

-Meanwhile:-

May stares down at the tablet watching at Kaitlynn shifts and turns in her sleep from a nightmare. Sighing she turns the tablet off feeling like she's invading the girl's privacy, May thinks back to how Kaitlynn acted today. Knowing she's not the same girl she was before, but then again neither is May. She only hopes that Kaitlynn has changed enough to know that she and Coulson are there for her if she ever needs to talk, so she doesn't have to keep bottling everything up. Like she always did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Kaitlynn slowly opens her eyes and looks around the room, wincing at the harsh bright light. Looking up she sees her arms bound above her head, she bites back a cry when she tries to pull her arms free.**

 **"I wouldn't move to much if I was you." A voice says, Kaitlynn looks around the room until she spots the figure who speaked. It was a man maybe early 30's shackled to a wall across from her, his face different shades of blue and purple. "They did quite a number on you."**

 **"Where am I?" Kaitlynn asks, her voice hoarse from both screaming and lack of water.**

 **"Don't know. They don't tell us anything." He says "I'm Max."**

 **"Kaitlynn. What do they want with us?"**

 **"Not sure." He says**

 **"So what? They're just beating us for no reason!?" Kaitlynn yells**

 **"There were others before you." He says changing the subject "First they beat you down. Make you submit to them…after that they take you out of the room and…" he says before stopping himself**

 **"And what?" Kaitlynn asks not sure if she really wants to know the answer**

 **"I'm not exactly sure what they do…but as long as I've been in here. No ones come back." He says, Kaitlynn opens her mouth to ask how long he's been here when the doors open.**

 **"Good your awake." A man says as he walks into the room followed by four guards, two guards walk over to stand by her while the others go to Max "My name is Dr. James and-"**

 **"-What do you want with us?" Kaitlynn interrupts earning a punch from one of the guards, Dr. James smiles.**

 **"From you? Nothing. Except your cooperation that is." He says with a sick smile**

 **"I'll never help you." Kaitlynn spats, James lets out a bone chilling laugh**

 **"Oh my dear. But you have no choice." He says before turning towards a table, he removes the cloth that was laid over it "So…shall we get started?" he asks as he holds up a scalpel before walking over to Kaitlynn. The blonde screams at the scalpel cuts into her body.**

_DREAM END_

* * *

Kaitlynn wakes up with a gasp, her face covered in sweat. She quickly scans the room before releasing a sigh, knowing she's not back at the lab and she's safe. Kaitlynn takes a deep breath as she puts her head in her hands, trying to slow down her racing heart. Once she feels that she's back in control she gets off the bed and begins to pushups, knowing she wont be able to go back to sleep. Once she counts to 100 she switches to curl-ups, doing a 100 of those before starting to do some Tai-Chi.

It wasn't until May knocked on the door does she stop

"Thought you might want to join me for some Tai-Chi exercises" she says, Kaitlynn smirks

"Just like the old days." She says as she follows May out of the room. They silently set up their mats before going through the motions that they've done far to many times.

"How long have you've been up?" May asks after a couple minutes of silence, neither girl stopping their movements.

"How do you know I didn't just wake up when you knocked on my door?"

"I saw you on the security monitor." May says "You seemed pretty into those curl-ups"

"I couldn't sleep." Kaitlynn says after a moment, May nods as she finishes the exercise before turning to face her trainee.

"You know if you ever need to talk. I'm here." May says, Kaitlynn gives her a small smile as she nods her head.

"I know." She says "And you know that it goes both ways right?" May shoots Kaitlyn a smirk before nodding her head as she leans down to roll up her mat. The blonde rolls her eyes as she rolls up her own mat. "So you ever going to tell me what happened between you and Andy?" May freezes but quickly recovers and finishes rolling up her mat.

"I ended it." May says in a tone that tells Kaitlynn to not bring it up again.

"What about why your the pilot of the plane instead of a kick ass field agent?"

"After Bahrain…after you…" May says before stopping herself "Things changed." She says in the same final tone. Kaitlynn nods

"Yeah we've all changed." She says more to herself, May looks at her questionably "So…any way a girl can get a shower around here?" she asks, May gives the girl a small smile before leading her to the bathroom where she can rinse off.

A few minutes later, Kaitlynn exits the bathroom dressed in S.H.I.E.L.D issued sweatpants and t-shirt to see the rest of the team awake.

"Morning." Kaitlynn says as she walks into the kitchen and pours herself a cup of coffee, the rest of the team says good morning back except for Skye who grumbles into her cup. Kaitlynn chuckles as she faces the brunette. "Not a morning person?"

"Nope." Skye says before half glaring up at her "I see you are though…I don't understand how people can wake up this early everyday." She groans, Kaitlynn chuckles

"Its 8:30." Kaitlynn says amused

"Exactly." Skye says with a pointed look, Kaitlynn rolls her eyes with another chuckle

"You know I wasn't exactly a morning person either."

"Really? With May as your S.O. she probably had you up every morning at 5."

"Oh she tried." Kaitlynn says with a laugh "There were a couple times where she literally had to drag me out of bed. It got so bad that she started using water." She says making Skye laugh

"Just picturing May doing that just made my day." Skye says wiping tears from her eyes

"Glad I could be of service." Kaitlynn says as she sips her coffee, she smirks when she hears Skye's stomach grumble. Skye looks at her blushing "You haven't eaten anything?"

"No. Not many people can cook on the plane." Skye says "And those who can usually don't."

"And I'm guessing you can't cook?"

"I can make a mean piece of toast or a bowl of cereal." Skye says grinning when she hears the blonde laugh, liking the sound.

"I'll make you something." Kaitlyn says as she walks over to the fridge, unaware of Skye staring at her, before pulling out a carton of eggs "You like eggs?" Skye nods her head trying not to look guilty from almost being caught.

A few minutes later Kaitlynn finishes making breakfast, luckily she made enough for the whole team. Skye moans as she shovels another fork fork full of egg into her mouth "These are the best eggs I've ever tasted." She says after she's swallowed. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"A few different places." Kaitlynn says with a mischievous smirk as she places her empty plate in the sink. She looks up when May walks in and make two plates filled with eggs and toast, which Skye helped with, before walking out.

"I'm guessing Coulson's not joining us?" Kaitlynn says as she watches her S.O. disappear into Coulson's office.

"Don't take it personally." Skye says giving her a small smile "He's going through some stuff."

"I guess so…" Kaitlynn says her eyes glued to Coulson's door. Skye opens her mouth to comfort the girl when Ward interrupts.

"Hey Skye read for training?" He asks as he places his empty plate in the sink

"Huh? Yeah. Sure." Skye says distractingly

"Meet in the cargo hold in 10" He says before turning to Kaitlynn "Thanks for making breakfast. Its been awhile since we eaten anything except for cereal or oatmeal."

"No problem." Kaitlynn says pulling her eyes away from Coulson's door "So you guys training?"

"Yes. I'm Skye's S.O. its my job to train her." Ward says, Kaitlynn nods

"Mind if I tag along?"

"I don't mind as long as you don't interfere." He says before turning to Skye to see what she thinks about it "Skye?"

"You can come. Maybe you can learn something." Skye says, Kaitlynn looks at her and raises an amused eyebrow

"You do realize May's my S.O. right?"

"Right…" Skye says blushing slightly before walking away, Kaitlynn chuckles before following the brunette to the cargo hold. Ward following from behind.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

"Alright let's take a break." Ward says as he leans down and helps Skye up from where he flipped her.

"Yeah a break sound like a good idea." Skye groans as she allows Ward to help her up, Ward nods before disappearing somewhere to towel off. "So how'd I do?" Skye asks as she looks at Kaitlynn whose sitting on the stairs.

"You did good. Your footing could use a little work though." She says as she hands Skye a water bottle.

"Thanks." Skye says as she takes the offered bottle

"Come here." Kaitlynn says once Skye's done drinking her water, Skye raises an eyebrow but sets her bottle down and walks over to the blonde. "What's your dominant hand?"

"My right." Skye says holding up her right hand

"Okay. You should be favoring your left." Kaitlynn says "Get into stance." Skye does as she's told and gets into fighting stance. "Alright right now your favoring your right side, which is understandable since your right handed but the problem is that is leaves your left side completely open and you unbalanced." She says as she adjusts Skye's stance before stepping back.

"This feels awkward." Skye says

"Its because you're not used to it." Kaitlynn says "But you will. Now come at me."

"What?"

"Come at me. Don't worry you wont hurt me." She reassures, the two stare at each other before Skye throws a punch, Kaitlynn easily dodges and Skye throws another. Before long the two are entangled in a sparring match.

Skye goes to hit Kaitlynn, but the blonde grabs her arm and twists Skye into her body. The two girls look at each other, both of them breathing heavily. Both girls lean in closer to each other, to where their lips are almost touching, but jump apart when they hear someone clear their throat. They look up to see May standing there.

"Kaitlynn with me." She says before walking away, Kaitlyn clears her throat as she steps back.

"I should go." She says, Skye nods in understanding. Kaitlynn gives Skye a small smile before walking away to find her S.O.

"What I miss?" Ward says startling Skye who was staring after Kaitlynn

"Nothing…" Skye says staring where Kaitlynn once was "You didn't miss anything." She says, Ward nods his head oblivious to how Skye is acting.

"Okay then…should we get back to sparring." He says, Skye nods before getting into her stance like Kaitlynn showed her.

* * *

_WITH KAITLYNN_

"Hey what's up?" Katlynn asks once she catches up to her S.O.

"What was that?" May asks in a harsh whisper

"What was what?" Kaitlynn asks feigning innocence

"Don't play dumb." May says "I saw you two down there. You know the rules between team members."

"Yeah and last time I recall so do you." Kaitlynn says crossing her arms

"What's that supposed to mean?" May say narrowing her eyes

"Please. You don't think I noticed you and Ward?" The two stare at each other, neither one backing down. May smirks

"You know you're the only one who has ever had the balls enough to talk to me like that." May says "Well besides Coulson." Kaitlynn smiles

"I missed you to" the blonde says catching the undertone "Now what was it that you needed me for?" she asks, May gives her a small smile before walking away. Kaitlynn raises an eyebrow but follows none the less.

"What's this?" Kaitlynn asks confused when they stop in front of a pod

"Its where you'll be staying from now on." May says

"You mean?" Kaitlynn asks in awe

"If your going to be part if this team you'll need your own place." May says, Kaitlynn grins before pulling May into a hug

"Thank you." She says

"Don't thank me. This was Coulson." May says as they pull apart

"About that. What's going on with him?"

"He's…dealing with some things" May says

"Did I-?"

"-No." May cuts her off "This has nothing to do with you. This is about Coulson." She assures, Kaitlynn nods "Now I bought you some clothes when we were at our last landing…. I'm happy your back Kaitlynn." May says before walking away.

Kaitlynn sighs as she looks around her new room, walking in she sits down on her bed. Finally having that feeling of safety, like those people aren't going to come after her. Seeing a familiar black object on her bed side table she leans over and picks it up to see that its her badge.

Smiling at the sight of her old badge, she gently runs her fingers over the familiar cool metal. She knows that she's back where she belongs, with her family and this time she's not leaving.


	6. Chapter 6

**Kaitlynn groans as she opens her eyes, looking around she realizes that she's strapped to a table. She bites back a scream of pain when the medication begins to wear off, looking down she sees her right hand looking a mix of colors. Obviously infected from never being cleaned, hearing a groan she looks over to see Max strapped to another table.**

" **Hey. You okay?" she croaks, Max nods weakly. Dried blood caked in his hair from the cut on his forehead.**

" **Son of a bitch" he groans when he shifts**

" **How bad?" Kaitlynn asks**

" **Concussion, dislocated shoulder and maybe a few broken ribs." He lists before looking over at her "You?"**

" **My hands worst…doesn't even look like a hand anymore." She says staring at the bloodied object before continuing on with what hurts "A few broken ribs and a busted knee" Max nods. This has become a routine for them, every time they wake up from a 'session' with James they list their injuries trying to use them as a distraction to the hell they are being put through everyday.**

" **Not as bad as the day before than." He says trying to be optimistic, Kaitlynn nods not even wanting to think about what these people did to them the other day.**

" **Good afternoon. How did you sleep?" Dr. James says as he walks into the room**

" **Fantastic. I had an amazing dream. I especially loved the part where you died with four gunshots to the chest." Kaitlynn says sarcastically, James grins before turning around and picking up a syringe.**

" **What is that?" Max asks**

" **Just a little something I cooked up." James says as he stokes the syringe filled with a pink liquid "I've heard its supposed to make the person injected feel like they are being fried from the inside out." James lets out a crazed laugh before walking over to Kaitlynn, injecting her with half the syringe before turning to Max and empting the rest into him.**

 **Kaitlynn sits there for a moment, not feeling anything before the pain comes. She bites her lip to keep from screaming as it feels like a million bees are stinging her intestines. She lets out a pained filled scream as her body fills like its being shredded apart. Kaitlynn is vaguely aware of Dr. James laughing manically in the background as she and Max wither in pain.**

_END OF DREAM:_

* * *

Kaitlynn gasps awake, looking around the room she realizes that she's back in her room and not with Dr. James. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she gets out of bed and puts her shoes on before walking out towards the cargo hold to workout, unaware of Skye's eyes following her. Having awoken from Kaitlynn whimpering in her nightmare.

After doing 100 reps of push ups, curl-ups and pull ups, Kaitlynn meets May to work on their Tai-chi. If May ever wondered or noticed how long Kaitlynn has been up she never mentions it. After they do their Tai-chi they separate to shower.

Kaitlynn sighs as she allows the hot water to run down her back, releasing the tension from her aching muscles. In truth, she's exhausted from the nightmares keeping her up at night but she knows from experience that even if she manages to fall asleep again the nightmares will return even worse than before.

Feeling the water start to get cold, Kaitlynn quickly washes her body and hair before stepping out. She dries herself off with a towel and changes into a pair of skinny jeans and a black tank top along with her combat boots. She makes sure the dark circles under her eyes are covered with makeup before joining the others in the kitchen.

"Morning." Kaitlynn says as she pours herself a cup of coffee, receiving a murmur of mornings back.

"There is nothing more unsettling, being apart of something so horrible, completely unaware." Jemma says as she looks at the device on her tablet "The cadet could of died."

"We drew up those concepts years ago." Fitz says as he pours him and Jemma some tea "We didn't know they'd be applied in that way." Kaitlynn grabs her own tablet and looks up the report to see what they're dealing with.

"Is this the device they found in the frozen pool?" Skye asks as she plays around with her cereal "Correction the instantly frozen pool."

"Seems like it was planted in the filter days before, like someone was waiting for those specific cadets."

"Well as far as they can tell, the device uses crystalline nucleation process she designed." Fitz says nodding towards Simmons

"And a delivery mechanism he invented." Simmons says, Kaitlynn chuckles at the two scientists as she sips her coffee. "That's why we're being asked to consult on the investigation."

"So we're going to the academy?" Skye asks

"Science and technology division." Kaitlynn says

"Cadets are pretty shaken up over what happened." Ward adds "Agent Weaver asked if you two could speak to the student body about potentiality to calm them down."

"Of course. The talk." Simmons says "We've all heard the talk."

"I haven't." Skye says

"I guess you will." Kaitlynn says "And don't worry you're not really missing out on anything exciting, just some boring speeches" she says before turning to Fitz-Simmons "No offence."

"Well, I've heard a lot about the academy. I'm excited to finally see it." Skye says

"Me too. Never been to Sci-Tech before." Ward says

"Never? Huh." Skye says "The different S.H.I.E.L.D academies don't interact?" Fitz scoffs

"Not much." Kaitlynn says with a smirk already seeing the tension between Ward and Fitz-Simmons.

"Academy of communications does, but they're the biggest and focused on data analysis." Ward says

"Boring." "It's the easiest to get into." Fitz and Simmons say at the same time

"That's where you'd be Skye" Fitz says

"Thanks." Skye says sarcastically

"Operations is the most aggressive program." Kaitlynn says "More people wash out of operations than the other academies."

"So which ones the hardest to get into?" Skye asks, Jemma gives her a smug smile "I'm picking up on the rivalry between sciences and operations" she says, Kaitlynn chuckles

"You have no idea." She says as she sips her coffee

"Are you and Coulson past all that, or you gonna help Ward steal their Mascot?" Skye asks when she sees May.

"We're not going. After we drop you off, Coulson and I have other matters to attend to." May says before walking off, once she's out of sight they all crowd around the counter to talk.

"Coulson hasn't come out of his office in awhile." Skye says worriedly "Do you think he's alright?"

"We saw him at a low. Its not easy for anybody." Ward says "But Coulson's tough as they come. He'll be good. Just give him time."

"May says he's working through some stuff" Kaitlynn says "I'm sure after this it'll all blow over." She assures "And while he takes this time its on us to figure out what's going on at the academy." She says, the group looks at each other before departing.

* * *

-TIME SKIP: ACADEMY-

"This was the SSR facility." Simmons says as they all stand looking at the campus "Before S.H.I.E.L.D. was even founded. 'SSR' stands for-"

"Strategic scientific reserve." Skye says "Yeah I know, is this where you got all your PhDs?"

"Oh no, you need at least one to get through the door" Simmons says

"Is Science and Technology what you imagined Agent Ward, Agent Robinson?" Fitz asks, Kaitlynn smirks

"Yep. No uniforms, no rope course, no define muscularity on anyone." He says as he looks at the students.

"No marching in place, No I.Q.'s in double digits" Fitz says making Kaitlynn snickers at the two bickering.

"There they are. So good to see you." Agent Weaver says as she walks over to them.

"You look as lovely as ever." Jemma says as she shakes her old professor's hand

"I concur." Fitz says shaking her hand

"Thank you." Weaver says before turning to the rest of the group, she freezes when she sees Kaitlynn.

"Agent Weaver." Kaitlynn says politely giving the woman a small smile

"Kaitlynn. I heard you were dead…my apologies I must of heard wrong." Weaver says as she stops in front of the blonde.

"You heard correctly. Until a few days ago S.H.I.E..L.D. thought I was dead." Kaitlynn says "Its good to see you Anne." She says as the two woman hug "I apologize that it has to be under these circumstances." She says as they pull apart

"You two know each other? Simmons says shocked

"Agent Weaver tried to recruit me for the academy…I was more into the physical aspects of being an Agent rather then the science though." Kaitlynn says with a smirk

"It's a shame to…you would have been an amazing engineer." Weaver says

"You? In Science and Technology?" Fitz says shocked, Kaitlynn nods

"Did you even have a degree?" Simmons asks

"Nope. I was just that talented." Kaitlynn says smirking before turning back to Agent Weaver "Back to the case, this is Agent Ward." She says

"Agent Ward, Pleasure to have you sir" Weaver says as she shakes Ward's hand

"Agent Weaver." Ward says "Is there a list of suspects?"

"Based on the level of intelligence it would take to put a device together like the one we found, we narrowed it down to the top 10% of our cadets." Weaver says "I'm worried there's a bad seed."

"Ops and Sciences have differences, but both have to be careful about what we call 'Bad Seeds', people who want to use the tools we give them for-" Ward says explaining it to Skye

"-Bad seed isn't a S.H.I.E.L.D term, Ward, its just a term" Skye says, Ward glares at Skye making Kaitlynn snicker

"We know you already questioned the victim, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask him myself" Ward says as he turns away from Skye and back to Weaver.

"I'll arrange for you to talk to Seth Dormer when he's out of class" Weaver says "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get Agents Fitz and Simmons settled into the lecture hall." She says before looking at Kaitlynn "It was nice seeing you again" she says before leading the two agents away from their group.

"Look at them. The popular kids." Skye says when she sees Fitz and Simmons gets crowded around by students "Who knew?"

"I did." Ward says

"While we have a minute, I think there's something you'll want to see." Kaitlynn says before leading Skye and Ward into the building.

"The wall of Valor" Skye says as they walk inside to see the wall, Ward disappearing somewhere to find a bathroom.

"So you've read about it?" Kaitlynn says, Skye nods

"Every S.H.I.E.L.D facility has a memorial to the agents lost in the line of duty" Skye says "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history can be traced on walls like this." Skye says as she walks over to the wall "Huh. Bucky Barnes." She reads

"Puts it in perspective. What we do." Kaitlynn says

"This make you guys proud. All this history." Skye says "Just wish I was a part of it." she says, turning around she continues when she sees Kaitlyn's face "Its not self-pity really. I'm just saying everyone here has earned this. They deserve it. I hacked my way in. Like I cheated."

"All you need to join is a dedication to the greater good." Kaitlynn says "And knowing Coulson he saw that in you the moment he met you."

"How can you be sure?" Skye asks

"Cause he saw it me." Kaitlynn gives her a small smile "Come on. We should probably catch up to Fitz-Simmons" she says seeing Ward walk out of the bathroom.

* * *

-TIME SKIP-

"Today we're welcome back two of S.H.I.E.L.D academy's finest, our youngest graduates to date." Agent Weaver says introducing Fitz-Simmons "You know their names. Please join me in welcoming Agent Leopold Fitz and Agent Jemma Simmons." The crowd claps as the two scientist walk up to the podium.

"Thank you Agent Weaver." Jemma says "Its nice to be back. Unfortunately, it has to be under these circumstances."

"If you don't know the history if S.H.I.E..L.D by now, there's no excuse…" Fitz says "Unless you fell asleep in Professor Vaughn's class that's a perfectly acceptable excuse." He says making the crowd chuckle, Skye looks around awkwardly.

"Our instinct as scientists is to move forward, advance quickly, push the envelope." Simmons says "But given recent events, it makes sense to reflect back in our history."

Kaitlynn sighs as she sits down in the empty seat next to Skye

"What I miss?" she says

"Nothing…besides some jokes that I have no clue what they're talking about." Skye says bitterly before changing the subject "Shouldn't you be helping Ward question that kid?"

"Ward's a big boy. He can take care of it himself" Kaitlynn says giving Skye a smile before they both turn their attention back to their friends.

"And S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded after the SSR was able to defeat the nearly indomitable force known as Hydra." Fitz says

"We tend to forget that these organizations Hydra, Centipede, A.I.M. were also made up of extremely brilliant scientists, men and woman who started with the same unlimited potential as you or I."

"Potential can sometimes be dangerous. Plutonium has the potential to power a city or a nuclear bomb" Fitz adds

"Today we'd like to share a few stories from the field in which we learned this lesson up close and faced the consequences when untested technology or biology lands in the wrong hands." Simmons says "And don't worry we brought pictures." She says the crowd laughs again.

"Oh God!" A kid yells before standing up from his seat "Oh GOD! What is this?!" he yells as ice travels from his feet and up his leg "Hey, what's happening to me?! Help me! Help Me! Get it off!"

"Fitz-Simmons!" Kaitlynn yells as she moves past the crowd to the kid whose whole body becomes frozen in ice.

"Find exposed skin." Jemma says as her and Fitz run to the kid. "He needs glucose to raise his body's natural freezing point."

"Simmons I need something to break the ice." Fitz says, Simmons hands him a small flashlight. Fitz grips it in his hand before hitting the ice.

"Jemma ready?"

"Yeah" Jemma says as she gets next to Fitz, hitting the ice one last time exposing the skin. Jemma quickly injects the glucose into him.

"What do I do?" Kaitlynn asks wanting to help

"Something's doing this to him. Find it." Fitz says as Ward comes in, Ward and Kaitlynn search around for the object.

"Ward there it is." Kaitlynn says spotting it under his chair

"What now?" Ward asks

"Smash the damn thing!" Fitz yells, Ward stomps down on the device causing the ice to break around the boy.

"Its okay. Its okay." Fitz says trying to calm the shaking kid down. The crowd claps, both in happiness and in awe that Fitz-Simmons got Donnie out.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

"And you can't think of anyone here who'd want to hurt you?" Kaitlynn asks Donnie, whose rapped up in a blanket.

"I don't know anyone." Donnie says

Donnie I'm gonna have you escorted back to your room." Weaver says "You get some rest and stay warm." She says, Donnie nods before standing up and walking over to Fitz-Simmons. Skye and Kaitlynn behind him.

"Sorry I ruined your lecture." Donnie apologizes "I was really looking forward to it."

"Its not your fault, Donnie." Simmons says before he walks away.

"No genetic materials or prints found on the device." Fitz says "The components are rare and expensive."

"Freshman pranks are tradition, but these are something else." Simmons says

"Attempted murder." Weaver says, joining them

"So Donnie was the indented target all along?" Ward says

"Did he have anything in common with the cadets at the pool?" Kaitlynn asks

"These kids were popular. Donnie was-" Weaver says

"Not." Skye fills in

"Donnie hadn't made any enemy's here but he hadn't made friends either." She says

"He had a hard time adjusting? How old is he?" Simmons asks

"18 youngest since you guys." Weaver say "190 I.Q. and failing out of high school when we met him."

"Probably bored out of his mind." Fitz says

"If things went well, we were considering graduating him early and assigning him to the sandbox." Weaver says

"Wow. He would love it there." Simmons says

"But he doesn't like it here, so I'm afraid he'll wash out." Weaver says

"Maybe that was the idea." Ward says "Agent Weaver keep working with investigations. Interviewing cadets, instructors."

"Of course." Weaver says before walking away

"And us?" Skye asks

"Their interviews wont bear fruit." Ward says "We teach cadets to keep secrets."

"Where did you guys hang out when you wanted to het away from the faculty?" Kaitlyn asks

"Can we tell someone from operations?" Simmons asks

"Yes, because we need to conduct our own investigation." Ward says catching on to what Kaitlynn is saying. The two scientists lead their team out of the building to where the hangout spot is.

"And when we get there?" Jemma asks

"We mingle, low key." Kaitlynn says "You and Skye get comfortable with the students see if you can get them gossiping."

"Skye looks young enough to blend in." Ward adds

"You're not exactly old man river, and Fitz looks younger than us." Skye says

"Time will come when you wont make fun of me for that." Fitz says "You'll be jealous. You'll be jealous wrinkly old hags." He says making Kaitlynn chuckle.

"Fitz needs to go talk to Donnie." Ward says

"Sorry?" Fitz asks

"No he's right." Kaitlynn says "Donnie's withdrawn, might know more than he's letting on."

"You're a hero here, Fitz. He looks up to you." Ward says "Go hang out with him. Even if he has no clue who might be after him, he could use a friend."

"That is a wonderful idea." Jemma says

"Ward has them from time to time." Fitz says with a nod "Ill meet you later." He says before walking off to find Donnie. As soon as Fitz is gone, Skye and Simmons turn around and look at Ward with a smile.

"What? Its strategic." Ward says

"Its adorable." Simmons says

"The tin man has a heart after all." Skye says, Kaitlynn chuckles as she watches the group. Ward shakes his head before walking past the girls.

"So where are we going?" he asks, Skye and Simmons follow him with Kaitlynn walking in the back.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps careful watch of everything within their walls, so in the late '60s to escape the cameras and the prying eyes of the faculty, a few cadets started sneaking down to the boiler room." Simmons says "To play cards, you know, exchange ideas."

"My kind of people." Skye says

"Some amazing breakthroughs have come out of here." Simmons says as she leads them to the basement "So the tradition lives on."

"Of cramming into the boiler room?" Kaitlynn asks

"Well over the years we made a few improvements." Simmons says as they walk into the boiler room to see a room packed with people, a few pool tables, some lazar lights and music. "So you have one of these at operations?" Simmons asks

"No." Ward says

"Did not think so." Simmons says with a smug grin

"Drinks are on me." Skye says as she walks down the stairs to join the party.

* * *

-TIME SKIP-

Skye laughs at something the bartender said before thanking him for the dinks and walking back over to where Kaitlynn and Ward are sitting.

"Bartender seemed chatty." Kaitlynn says

"He's in computer sciences." Skye says as she hands Kaitlynn a drink "Didn't take long to convince him I was a level 7 CS operative. And guess where I am stationed. The sandbox."

"Good thinking." Ward says

"Did you find anything?" Kaitlynn asks, Skye nods

"I asked if any of the cadets had hopes of getting assigned there." Skye says before nodding behind her "Behind me. The curls." She says, Kaitlynn follows her gaze to where Callie Hannigan is playing pool. "Callie Hannigan. Ambitious, gunned hard for getting assigned to the sandbox. And apparently word's gotten around, she's lost the top spot."

"She was at the pool." Kaitlynn says

"But didn't want to go in." Skye adds, Ward nods before going to ask Callie a few questions about what happened at the pool. Kaitlynn follows Skye over to a table where Simmons is sitting.

A few minutes later Ward walks over and tells them what he learned. Simmons quickly dials Fitz phone and tells him that Donnie and Seth staged the attack to get them here and take them off their radar of being suspects.

After they retrieve an unconscious Fitz from Donnie's dorm room, Fitz-Simmons and Skye all head back to the B.U.S. to meet up with Coulson and May. Kaitlynn and Ward staying behind to help Agent Weaver search the campus for the missing Cadets.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Kaitlynn sighs aggravated that they haven't found anything to lead them to where Seth and Donnie are.

"Anything?" Kaitlynn asks when she sees Agent Weaver and Ward outside.

"Not yet." Ward says as they begin walking to their next search location. They stop when they see the dark storm cloud form above the school.

"We need to get everyone inside. Get everyone to the boiling room." Katlynn orders "Now." She says before running off, knowing one place she knows they haven't checked yet.

Kaitlyn stops knowing she wont get there fast enough by running, looking around she sees a black motorcycle, sighing in relief she runs over to it. Quickly hot wiring the vehicle before taking off towards the north campus parking garage.

"I'll be damned! We did it!" Seth yells happily as he picks up a ball of ice "It worked." Kaitlyn skids to a stop by the truck.

"You need to shut this down! Now!" she yells

"Its too late!" Seth laughs "Once Quinn sees this! He'll be begging to buy our product!" he says, Kaitlynn opens her mouth to yell at him but is cut off when it starts to hail harder. They quickly duck down and run into Seth's truck to get away from the ice. They watch, scared, as the ice cracks the windshield. Coming down in bigger and bigger blocks.

"I did it." Donnie says as he watches what he created destroy their surroundings.

"The ice stopped. So its ending?" Seth asks a few minutes later when ice stops falling out of the Sky.

"No. Its just the beginning." Donnie says

"We're in the eye of the storm. Its going to get worse." Kaitlynn says looking up at the sky

"Strom?" Seth asks "But crystalline nucleation should only create ice-" he says

"-It did." Kaitlynn says cutting him off as she points to the sky "Up there. You seeded the clouds."

"The most effective way in history." Donnie says

"You created a super-storm." Kaitlynn says as she turns to Donnie "Donnie. You need to stop this…People are going to get hurt." She says, Donnie nods as he jumps onto the bed of the truck.

"What are you doing?" Seth asks

"I have to try to reverse the process." Donnie says

"Look Quinn specifically said he needed a working apparatus to come and pick us up." Seth says

"All the money in the world wont matter if your dead." Kaitlynn says

"Please. Please help me." Donnie says, Seth nods before they both start to work on the machine trying to find a way to reverse the process.

"Kaitlynn can you hear me?" May's voice says through the com

"Yeah. Yeah I can hear you." Kaitlyn says "I'm with Donnie and Seth. We are trying to figure out a way to reverse the machine."

"Stay put. We are coming to get you." May says

"What!? How? The storms to- May?" Kaitlynn says only to have the storm cut off their connection. "How we coming guys?" she asks

"Think we almost got it." Donnie says before turning to Seth "Seth hold barium hydroxide chamber is in place!"

"Okay!" Seth yells doing as he's told

"Okay. That should do it." Donnie says "Now take-" he says only to be cut off when the device short circuits sending both boys flying backwards.

"Holy sh-" Kaitlynn says, before running over to where Seth is laying on the ground. "Donnie you okay?" she yells behind her

"We're gonna have to try to get underground ride it out till the storm passes." Donnie says as he gets off the truck. "Seth!?" he yells seeing his friend unmoving. They look up when they see a plane coming. When the plane is low enough Coulson, Simmons, and Fitz jump out.

"Seth's down!" Kaitlynn yells

"Can you help him?" Donnie asks hoping his friend will be okay. Coulson and Fitz carry him onto the plane.

"He's going into cardiac arrest! Skye get a blanket for his head!" Jemma orders "Lay him down here! Sir I need the A.E.D.! Fitz Oxygen." She says, everyone runs around getting what Simmons asks "0.4 millimeters of epinephrine."

"I got it." Fitz yells as he runs back into the room with the oxygen. Simmons begins to do CPR on him before taking out the A.E.D.

"Get ready to clear." Simmons says as the plane rumples due to the storm causing them to fall over "Charging!" Simmons says as she sits back up, Coulson orders everyone to back up "Clear!" she yells before putting the paddles onto Seth's chest. "Pulse?"

"Nothing." Kaitlynn says feeling for a pulse

"Charging." Simmons says before placing the paddles on his chest "Clear!" she yells "Pulse."

"No." Kaitlyn says sadly, Simmons goes to charge again but stops when Coulson rests his hand on hers

"He's gone." He says sadly

"No Seth." Donnie says "Seth! Seth!" he yells begging for his friend to wake up but it having no affect.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

After the storm passes, they land the plane down. Kaitlynn watches as Fitz leads Donnie off the plane to where Agent Weaver is waiting for him, Kaitlynn sighs before walking up to where the rest of the team is.

"Hey ready to go?" Kaitlynn says when she sees Skye

"Yeah." Skye says, Kaitlynn nods before following the brunette to one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. cars to drive her back to the academy.

"So why'd you request a moment alone on campus?" Kaitlynn asks

"I found what I was looking for" Skye says, Kaitlynn nods not really understanding it but trusting that if it was truly important then Skye will tell her on her own time. The two girls drive back to the campus quietly, not saying a word to one another. Once there Skye walks into the building and to the wall of valor.

Kaitlynn stays close enough to where she can see Skye incase she needs her but far enough so she's not invading Skye's moment.

Skye looks at all the names on the wall, silently thanking all the agents who lost their lives in the field to protecting her her whole life. Her eyes linger on where Agent L. Avery's name is carved, her finger tracing over the name. She goes to turn but stops when she sees a familiar name on the wall.

Skye smiles as she traces the name Agent K. Robinson. Thinking back to what she told Coulson about her story just starting. She turns and starts to walk back to Kaitlynn thinking that her story does start here, and maybe its not to late to start it with someone else.

"Ready?" Kaitlynn asks, Skye smiles and nods

"Yeah. Yeah I think I am" she says before following Kaitlynn out of the building.


	7. Chapter 7

**Kaitlynn gasps in pain as the doctor pulls the scalpel away from her body.**

 **"Why are you doing this?" She pants, Dr. James giggles in delight**

 **"Your being tested" he says with a sickening smile showing his rotten teeth.**

 **"Tested for what?" she asks trying to hold back her disgust**

 **"For what's to come" he laughs, Kaitlynn groans as she starts to feel dizzy. Both from the blood loss and from the infection in her hand growing.**

 **"No. No. No. You mustn't die yet" Dr. James says as he walks away and starts looking through his box filled with tools. Kaitlynn looks over to where Max is still unconscious due to the torture he was put through before turning back to the doctor with half lidded eyes.**

 **"What are you doing?" Kaitlynn moans, her eyes widen when she sees the doctor turn around with an axe and a wicked grin on his face. "No. No Please! Please Don't!" she yells as she tries to pull away from him but unable to go anywhere because of the restraints. James laughs as he stops in front of her, he raises the axe above his head before bringing it down.**

 **Kaitlynn screams in pain, she looks down to see her severed hand on the ground, a pile of blood forming around it. The last thing she hears before blacking it out is Dr. James laughing.**

* * *

_DREAM END: _

Kaitlynn wakes up covered in sweat, gasping for air.

"Dammit." She whispers to herself as sits up and puts her head in her hands, taking a deep breath she rubs her hands over her face before standing up and walking out of her room. Skye lifts her head up and watches her leave silently. She lays there for a moment before getting up and following the blonde, hoping that maybe if she talks to her that Kaitlynn will be able to sleep.

Kaitlynn sighs as she walks into the cargo area, she pulls out the punching bag deciding to throw some punches instead of doing her usual workout. She quickly tapes up her hands before before sending a series of punches at the bag, hoping to tire herself out enough so maybe she'll collapse from exhaustion.

Skye peaks into the cargo hold to see Kaitlyn practically pumbling the bag, walking away she grabs two glasses and a bottle of scotch before walking back to the cargo hold.

"Damn what that bag do to use?" She asks, Kaitlynn jumps at the sound of her voice and turns around in fighting positon. She relaxes when she sees who it is.

"What are you doing up?" Kaitlynn asks as she starts to unwrap the tape from around her hands.

"Couldn't sleep." Skye says "You?"

"Same." Kaitlynn says as she tosses the tape away from her before nodding towards the bottle.

"I needed a drink. Care to join me?" Skye asks holding up the bottle of scotch, Kaitlynn gives her a small smile before walking over to her.

"Never thought of you as a scotch drinker" she says as she holds up the bottle to look at it

"Oh yeah? Then what kind of drinker am I?" Skye asks with a smile as she takes the bottle back and walks over to the stairs to sit, Kaitlynn smirks before following her. Both girls sit next to each other on the third to last step.

"Don't know." Kaitlyn says as she watches Skye pour them drinks "You seem like a beer type of girl." She says, Skye smirks as she takes a sip of her drink. Her nose wrinkling at the burn. Kaitlynn chuckles as she takes a sip.

"Yeah…definitely not a scotch drinker." Skye says as she looks down at her drink with a disgusted look on her face. Kaitlynn laughs

"So why are you drinking it then?" she asks

"Needed something strong…and you looked like you could use a friend." Skye says, she watches as the other girl's smile disappear as she looks down at her drink "When's the last time you slept?" Skye asks gently, Kaitlynn quickly downs the rest of her drink before pouring another.

"Not for a long time." She says as she sips the scotch, not caring that her throat is burning. Seeing that she's not going to say anything else Skye starts to talk about herself, hoping that Kaitlynn hearing her problems will help open her up.

"You know the reason why I wanted to go see the wall of valor today at the academy was because I wanted to thank them." Skye says "I wanted to thank them because S.H.I.E.L.D has protected me my whole entire life and I didn't even know it." She says, seeing that she caught Kaitlyn's attention she continues.

"My whole life, I was switched around foster homes. I always thought that no one wanted me…then today I found out that S.H.I.E.L.D had me protected. Always changing homes so that someone couldn't find me…when I was little someone torn up a whole village…killing people to try and find me. S.H.I.E.L.D. protected me from that." Skye finishes looking down at her drink, she looks up when hears Kaitlynn speak.

"I can't sleep at night." Kaitlynn says her eyes focused on the drink in her hand, not meeting Skye's eyes "Every time I close my eyes. I see it. What they did to me. What they made me do…that's why I come in here." She says nodding towards the punching bag. "I figure if I tire myself out enough I'll just be able to sleep…not dream about anything…just nothing…" she says, the blonde looks up when she feels a hand on hers.

"That's not healthy." Skye says "You can't keep doing that to yourself." She says

"What am I supposed to do?" Kaitlynn asks frustrated "I can't close my eyes for more than a few hours and if I try to sleep afterwards the nightmares…. they get worse." She says as she downs what's left of her drink "You know the one thing I liked about that memory drug they pumped me full of...is that when I slept there were no nightmares. No anything…there was nothing to remember." She says as she pours herself another, Skye grabs the glass before she can down it.

"Alright that's enough." Skye says as she sits the glass down "Come with me." She says as she pulls Kaitlyn to her feet

"Where are we going?" Kaitlyn asks

"We are going to get you to sleep." Skye says

"What? I told you the nightmares-" Kaitlynn starts only to get cut off.

"Just trust me." Skye says, Kaitlynn sighs and nods her head allowing Skye to pull her to her bed. Skye climbs into her bed before ordering Kaitlynn to get in.

"What?" Kaitlynn says confused

"Get in." Skye says again

"I don't see how this is going to-"

"-Do you trust me?" Skye interrupts

"…Yeah" Kaitlyn says

"Then get in the bed." Skye says, Kaitlynn sighs before climbing into the bed.

They lay there side by side neither one of them talking

"This isn't working…" Kaitlyn says as she goes to get out of the bed, only to stop when Skye pulls her back down.

"Let me try something…" Skye says as she moves close to the blonde, so she's curled into Kaitlynn's side, making the blonde stiffen. Skye wraps one arm around Kaitlynn's waist and uses the other to tangle her fingers into the blonde's hair and massage her scalp.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Kaitlyn asks nervously

"One of my foster parents used to do this when I'd wake up from a nightmare" Skye says like its obvious, not breaking her movements. "You know you won't be able to sleep if you're not relaxed." Skye says after a few minutes of silence when she feels Kaitlynn still stiff.

"R-Right…Sorry." Kaitlynn stutters, her face getting red. Skye smirks hearing the blonde girl stutter, she feels Kaitlynn take a deep breath and her body relax against her. A few minutes later she feels Kaitlyn's breathing slow, looking down she smiles when she sees the other girl completely out.

"Goodnight Kaitlynn" Skye whispers as she presses a kiss to the blonde's temple before joining her in sleep.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

May walks down to the cargo bay and is surprised to not find Kaitlynn there only a bottle scotch with two glasses on the stairs and a punching bag in the middle of the room. Shaking her head she walks over to where Kaitlynn's bed is she's again surprised to see her not there either. She turns around to try and find her pupil but freezes when she sees two bodies in Skye's bed. Looking closer she smiles when she sees Kaitlynn and Skye entangled in one another. Happy to see Kaitlynn finally getting some sleep, May quietly closes Skye's door so when the others wake up they wont be disturbed before waling away to clean up the cargo bay and do her Tai-chi.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Kaitlynn slowly opens her eyes, she looks around confused not knowing where she is before last night's events come back to her. She looks around to find Skye gone and her alone, Kaitlynn sighs before she gets out of Skye's bed and walks to her room. She grabs a few clothes before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

About 20 minutes later Kaitlyn walks out of the bathroom, dressed in skinny jeans and a plaid button up with combat boots. She walks into the kitchen, happy that no ones there.

"Holy shit." Kaitlyn says when she sees that its 12'oclock

"Morning sleepy beauty" Skye says as she comes in making Kaitlyn jump.

"Hey" the blonde says with a small smile "Listen…thanks for last night" she says awkwardly

"No problem." Skye says with a small smile "You looked like you could use it." Kaitlyn smiles, she opens her mouth to say something but is cut off when Ward walks in followed by Fitz-Simmons, Coulson and May.

"We brought pizza!" Ward yells as he set a large pizza box on the counter.

"Great. I'm starving." Skye says as she quickly grabs a slice, missing the way Kaitlyn is looking at her.

"Missed you this morning." May says as she walks over to her trainee handing her a plate "Where were you?" she asks

"I umm slept in…" Kaitlynn says as she takes the plate, May nods as she follows Kaitlynn's gaze to where she's staring at Skye whose talking to Ward.

"Just be careful…both of you." May says, Kaitlynn looks at her S.O. shocked

"I uh…what?" she stutters, May smirks

"I don't want either of you getting hurt." She says, Kaitlyn nods

"I wont hurt her." The blonde says, May nods her head before walking away. Kaitlyn smiles as she looks over the team, her new family. Knowing that she's back where she belongs. Her eyes linger on where Skye is laughing, Kaitlyn smiles thinking about how she just might be falling for the brunette hacker.


	8. Chapter 8

Kaitlynn wakes up to the feeling of something warm underneath her, slowly opening her eyes she sees a familiar figure. Kaitlynn smiles seeing Skye peacefully sleeping, ever since that night that Skye followed her to the cargo hold they've grown closer. Skye would wake up to Kaitlynn having a nightmare and would wake her up if she was unable to soothe her, depending on how bad the nightmare got. Most times Skye would end up falling asleep with Kaitlynn after calming the other girl, at first it was awkward to wake up with the brunette asleep next to her but after a couple nights of peaceful sleeping Kaitlyn welcomed the sight to see Skye as soon as she woke up.

Kaitlyn sighs as she looks over at her clock seeing that its 5:30am and knowing she has to meet May, Kaitlynn carefully detaches herself from the brunette making sure not to wake her. She winces when Skye mumbles in her sleep and shifts around in the bed, she waits until Skye's breathing evens out and returns back to the dream world before letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Kaitlyn leans down and picks up her sneakers and tip toes out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her before she leaves to meet May for their Tai-chi routine.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

"Hey what's going on?" Kaitlynn asks as she walks into the kitchen, showered and dressed for the day.

"Debriefing in 5" Skye says happily as she closes up her laptop

"I'm guessing you found something on Quinn?" Kaitlynn asks knowing how hard Skye was looking for anything related to the millionaire.

"Yup." Skye says popping her 'P' before walking to the command room, Kaitlynn chuckles before following the bouncing brunette.

* * *

_In The Command Room_

"Ian Quinn" Coulson says as he walks into the room

"You found him?" May asks

"No. but we think we know how we can." He says "Skye tracked down an invoice from one of his shell companies. He made a big purchase recently."

"$10 million big" Skye adds

"Any idea of what it is?" Kaitlynn asks

"No. But it was designed by Cybertek Inc." Skye says "A small firm that deals in advanced technology and research."

"Which is where this gets interesting." Coulson says "They've hired a private-security outfit to transport the purchase, Former military, Ex-Mercs."

"Lot of muscle to move one package" Ward comments

"And they know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got eyes on Quinn." Coulson says

"Which is why they're transporting it old-school." Skye adds

"On a train through the Italian countryside, from Verona to Zagreb. Very rural, very isolated." Coulson says

"And you think Quinn's on that train." May states

"No, but I believe they're delivering the item to Quinn himself." Coulson says "We got our intel from Italian authorities who have been monitoring the situation"

"And they don't mind us taking over the OP?" May asks

"I asked very nicely." Coulson says making Kaitlynn smirk already picturing how Coulson asking nicely isn't really asking.

"If everything goes as planned, Cybertek's security team wont even know we were on the train." Coulson says

"So we're going in undercover" Ward says, Kaitlynn snickers as she looks at her S.O.

"I hate undercover." May sighs, shooting her trainee a glare when she sees her smirking

"May, Ward and Kaitlynn, you're front and center." Coulson says going over the plan "Once we locate the package you'll tag it with a tracker. Skye and Fitz, you'll be running communications. After the package is tagged, we'll follow it to Quinn." He says "Once we capture Quinn, we'll be one step closer to the Clairvoyant."

"And what about the two of us sir?" Jemma asks

"We'll track the guards." He says

* * *

_ON THE TRAIN_

Kaitlyn and May walk into one of the train compartments, dressed in fur coats while Ward follows behind them with there fake luggage. Kaitlynn gives Skye a subtle smirk and a wink when they pass one another, Skye chuckles at the blonde as her and Fitz take their seats.

"Would you like me to show you to your room?" the train crew member asks "It would be my pleasure." Kaitlyn bites her lip to keep from laughing when May sends the man a death glare before walking away, Kaitlynn gives the man a curt nod before following her S.O.

"We'll find our own way, thank you." Ward says in Italian

"They are a lot of work no?" the crew member asks

"Keeps it interesting." Ward says before following them

May finds their room and quickly goes inside, Kaitlynn looks behind her and sees Ward before following. May removes her fur coat to reveal a leather cat suit

"That looks cozy." Ward says seeing the suit, Kaitlyn rolls her eyes as she takes off her own coat and begins to change into one of the train's crew member's outfit.

"Once I've located the package, I'll let you know where to place the tracker." May says as she pulls her hair up into a ponytail.

"Seem like things are getting personal?" Ward asks, May stops her movements "I'm talking about our operations." He says "Look I know Coulson was put through hell but…he hasn't been the same since. I don't know what he said to Skye, but she's different." He says, Kaitlynn tenses up at the mention of the brunette.

"How so?" May asks

"Driven, Focused." Ward says "And she was holed up for days trying to track down Quinn. It feels like Coulson's got her on a warpath. Seems personal."

"It is personal." Kaitlyn says as she puts the finishing touches on her outfit.

"The Clairvoyant had him tortured." May adds "Quinn's the only person we know who's connected to all this."

"We both know personal urges can adversely affect tactical decisions." Ward says

"That's why I don't have any." May says making Kaitlynn snicker "You should do the same?"

"Really?" Ward asks "You think Coulson will take that excuse if he finds out about us?"

"Took it okay when I told him." May says as she walks towards the window.

"Wait. You told him?" Ward asks

"Yep." May says before disappearing out the window

"We uh-" Ward says awkwardly as he turns toward the blonde who he forgot was standing there

"I knew since the first day I was here." Kaitlyn says as she puts her hat on, she pats a stunned Ward on the shoulder as she walks out of the room.

* * *

_With SKYE:_

"Are you nervous?" Fitz asks

"Just ready for this all to be over." Skye says "I'm ready to get Quinn."

"Me too." Fitz says "So are we British or American?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, we're traveling together." Fitz explains "We should at least be from the same country. How's your Scottish accent?"

"I don't know. You tell me how great is it, laddie" Skye says in a horrible Scottish accent with a grimace

"American it is then." Fitz says with an American accent "That's a better idea."

"Oh that was really good." Skye says surprised

"I used to watch a lot of American TV growing up." Fitz says back in his regular voice "Some of its quite good. Lots of nice teeth."

"Oh here we go. Follow me lead." Skye says when she sees the train member "Excuse me. Do you speak English?"

"Of course." The man says his words heavily accented "How may I be of service?"

"Can you recommend a restaurant in downtown Zagreb?"

"Someplace affordable with big portions." Fitz says in his American accent

"Are you looking for something romantic?" the man asks

"Yes. Please." Skye says before leaning up and kissing Fitz on the cheek "We are celebrating our six-month anniversary with a whirlwind trip all over Europe." Skye explains, the crew member smiles at the couple "Well technically we met six months ago, but he didn't ask me out till last month, so our official one-month anniversary isn't until next Saturday."

"Sunday" Fitz says at the same time "Yeah."  
"I think he found me intimidating." Skye says as she steps into the crew members personal space and grabs the keys off him before stepping back.

"Young love." The man says "So…confusing." He says

"Is it?" Skye asks with a tilt of her head

A few minutes later they ditch the crew member and head toward the luggage compartment

"You uh got a little flustered back there." Skye says as they walk into the room

"What?" Fitz asks "When you kissed me on the cheek like my grandmother? Good going really selling our relationship there." He says as they start to set their stuff up "I have a device that could have done those things. Broken the lock and all that."

"What? Why wouldn't you tell me that?" Skye asks

"I'm always the gadget guy." Fitz says "Maybe sometimes I want to do things with my bare hands."

"You make the gadgets with your bare hands"

"Just allow me these rare moments of self-pity okay?" Fitz says "You're the least supportive pretend girlfriend I've ever had." He says making Skye laugh

"Comms are live" Skye says "Coulson, Simmons you in position?"

"Yes just waiting for May's signal." Coulson replies

* * *

_WITH KAITLYN:_

Kaitlynn sighs as she finishes helping another passenger with their luggage, hearing where the package is she starts to make her way there.

"On it. Heading towards package now." She says into her comm only to hear static "Skye? May?" she asks "Dammit" she mutters when all she gets is static. Walking to the back of the train she sees Coulson holding a cup of coffee.

"Still warm." he says looking up at her

"You hear anything from the others?" Kaitlynn asks

"No you-" Coulson cuts himself off when he sees Ward run into the room "Ward!" he yells

"We've been made!" Ward yells back as guys come out from behind him "Grenade! We got to jump!" Ward yells seeing one of the guards pull out a grenade. Coulson, Kaitlynn and Ward all jump out of the train just as the guard throws the grenade at them, erupting in blue smoke.

They look up from where they landed on the ground to see the train gone.

"The train. It just…" Kaitlynn says confused

"Yep. Vanished" Coulson says "Which I might add… not easy."

"I told Simmons I'd come back for them." Ward says

"May's there. They'll be okay." Coulson reassures

"No she's not" Kaitlynn says as she walks over to a bush and pulls out the goggles May was wearing.

"Is you phone working?" Coulson asks as he tries his cell, Ward and Kaitlynn both shake their heads no.

"Cybertek must have taken out our electronics." Ward says

"Not a grenade exactly" Coulson says as he picks up what the guards through at them. "Might be some kind of cloaking mechanism."

"Maybe it created some kind of portal, jumped the train there?" Ward asks

"Oh let's hope not. I can't deal with Asgard today." Coulson says

"Cybertek knew we were coming" Kaitlyn says "How?"

"Could have been the Clairvoyant." Coulson says

"We got to get back to the plane." Kaitlyn says seeing trucks approach, before they all take off running into a field filled with grape vines.

A few minutes later they stop when they see a truck.

"Keys might be in it." Coulson says "Its the country. People are very trusting in the country" he explains seeing Ward and Kaitlyn's faces.

"Its running" Ward says as he leans down to inspect it "Yeah its been hot-wired"

"This is…" Coulson starts

"Suspicious?" Kaitlynn says

"I was gonna say 'Fortuitous'. Let's get out of here." Coulson says as he gets into the truck, Kaitlynn gets in the passenger side while Ward rides in the back.

They make it back to the plane to see that someone is calling, Coulson hits the button and Russo's face pops up.

"Signore Russo, what happened?" Coulson asks

"Agent Coulson. Thank God." Russo says "I've been trying to reach you. Cybertek knew. They knew we were at the station."

"They knew we were on the train too" Coulson says "Most of my team is unaccounted for."

"Most of my men are dead!" Russo says "Where are you now?"

"On our plane." Coulson says "We'll send you the coordinates. And Russo do you have any idea what happened to the train?"

"What do you mean?" Russo asks confused

"It vanished with our team still on it."

"Okay we'll look into that. I'm on my way to you now. And maybe together we can find some answers yes?" Russo says, Coulson nods before hanging up.

"What now?" Kaitlynn asks

"Ill call H.Q. you two take this" Coulson says handing Kaitlynn the device "We need to figure out what the hell happened to that train." Kaitlynn and Ward nod before walking to Fitz-Simmons's lab.

Kaitlynn places the device on a clear box before standing in front of the table.

"Do you know how to turn it on?" Ward asks, Kaitlynn shrugs as she stares at the table

"Holotable. On." She says as she waves her hand over it, nothing "Holotable. Activate." She says using both hands, Ward chuckles when nothing happens.

"Want to give it a go?" She asks aggravated, as her and Ward switch places. He looks around before finding a switch, Ward gives her a smug grin before he raises his hands up and all the past devices looked at come up.

"Nice." Kaitlyn snickers, Ward sighs before moving the rest of the holograms out of the way except for the one they need.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled satellite images." Coulson says as he walks into the lab

"And?" Kaitlynn asks

"Train's gone." Coulson says "They're checking alternate routes. If its somewhere on earth, we'll find it." He says before looking at the hologram "Its…pretty tricky right? I couldn't find the on button. Can you zoom in?" Ward nods before using his thumb and forefinger to try and zoom in but nothing happens, he tries it again and then tries to grab it with his hands.

Kaitlyn bites her lip to keep from laughing

"I think Fitz-Simmons do something more like…" Coulson says as he spreads his fingers out only for it to do nothing, he tries using both hands "Damn" he says when nothing happens, Kaitlynn chuckles.

"I think its like…" she says as she wiggles her fingers and moves them aside causing the hologram to turn unrecognizable.

"Lets just upload the specs to H.Q." Coulson suggests

"Good idea" Ward says as he powers the table down "Oh uh sir? This probably isn't the best time, but what May told you…I would have preferred it to stay between me and her." Ward says, Kaitlynn raises both her eyebrows not wanting to be in the middle of the conversation she walks out of the lab and into the cargo bay.

"Well it is happening on my bus, amongst members of my team." Coulson says

"No, we've never…done- its never happened on the bus, sir" Ward says

"You want to do this now? Okay." Coulson says "What you're doing is against protocol, so if you endanger an operation or anyone gets hurt, I'll reassign you to barrow, Alaska, and you'll spend the rest of your years pulling the night shift guarding Blonsky's cryo-cell. Am I clear?" Ward doesn't say anything "I'll take that as a yes. And if its really just sex Ward…you should just get more comfortable using the word."

Coulson and Ward join Katlynn in the cargo bay when they see a car pull up.

"Agent Coulson, its gonna be alright." Russo says "We found your people. The train its-" the rest of his words are cut off when he drops to the ground, dead, revealing a bloody and pissed off May behind him.

"Wheels up in five." She says in a tone that makes you want to run and do whatever she says, Kaitlynn looks back down at Russo where he lies dead with a knife in his back and realizes he has a gun in his hand.

"You okay?" Kaitlyn asks worried for her S.O.

"You were on the train when it disappeared." Ward says

"May Russo was-" Coulson starts "Explain yourself please"

"The train didn't disappear. Russo sold us out." May says "Get the plane ready. I need a shower." She says before walking away, Ward and Kaitlynn follow.

"You're hurt. Let me stitch you up." Ward says, Kaitlyn rolls her eyes knowing that Mays not going to like it.

"I said get the plane ready." She orders

"Better do what she says" Kaitlyn says as she follows her S.O.

It wasn't until the plane was up in the air that did May take care of her wounds, Kaitlynn starts to walk into to the lab but stops when she sees Coulson and May so close. Ward stops behind her seeing the same thing but walks ahead anyway making the blonde roll her eyes.

"We need to re route the plane. Just got word from S.H.I.E.L.D. that the train stropped suddenly in the Italian countryside" he says

"What? Why?" Coulson asks

"We'll find out soon. I'll set the coordinates. Touchdown in 10." Ward says sending a glance to May before walking out.

"I'll come help." May says

"I got it." Ward responds

* * *

_A few minutes later they arrive at the area where the train stopped_

"They parked here 15 minutes ago." Katlynn reports

"Agents on the ground have no idea why" Ward adds

"Any sign of Fitz-Simmons and Skye?" Coulson asks

"No." Kaitlynn says, a bad feeling forming in her stomach telling her something bad is going to happen.

Coulson starts heading for the door to go inside the train when he spots two smudges on the window. They walk into the luggage compartment where Skye and Fitz were hiding to find nothing except for their computers with bullet holes in them making Kaitlynn's uneasiness grow. They jump when Simmons jumps out from some luggage holding a I.C.E.R. yelling for everyone to get down before firing a few shots.

"Simmons Stop!" Coulson yells, Simmons looks around confused

"What?" she asks "Where are Fitz and Skye?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out" Kaitlyn says

* * *

_TIME SKIP: _

After Simmons explained what happened before she got knocked unconscious the team headed back to the plane deciding that both Skye and Fitz left willingly, knowing that they'd signal where their location is. A few minutes later the command table begins to beep.

"I think I got something!" Kaitlynn calls, the rest of the team rushes in, as she types a few things into the table before pulling up a map. "They activated the tracker." She says as she shows them the coordinates where a red light is blinking.

"Everyone suit up. May get us in the air" Coulson orders, they all nod their heads before going their separate ways. The bad feeling in Kaitlynn's stomach only continuing to grow.

* * *

_WITH SKYE: _

Skye sneaks through Quinn's mansion, trying to find the man in question, she ducks behind a wall when she sees a group of people come out of a room.

"Find Mr. Quinn. Tell him his purchase is downstairs." A heavily accented female voice orders, Skye waits until they pass before going to the door that they just came out of. Slowly walking downstairs to a single door. Skye gently opens the door and walks through it, to reveal what looks like an old wine storage area. Accept with a large cylinder machine in the corner, Skye looks around cautiously with her I.C.E.R. at the ready as she walks towards the machine.

She stares in shock when she sees the familiar face of Mike Peterson seemingly asleep inside the machine.

"Mike." Skye says

"Hello." A voice says from behind her, Skye quickly turns around and points her gun at Quinn only to have it taken away by a man who comes out of nowhere. Skye grunts as the man, who happens to be one of the security guards that was on the train, pushes her back into the machine.

"Skye." Quinn says "The Clairvoyant told me to expect you." He says

"Signor Quinn" Mancini says "This is the same gun as the specs you gave us." He says his voice heavily accented

"Yeah you guys have been looking at us while we've been looking at you." Quinn says "And we found a handful of particularly interesting things." He says as he goes to the machine and turns a knob, releasing some air before pulling Mike out.

"Mike." Skye says shocked, seeing half of his face burnt and one of his legs missing as he sits up "Oh god, you're alive."

"That's right. You two know each other." Quinn says looking between the two "Hey do you know who I am?" Quinn asks patting Mike on the shoulder, Mike nods "And you have your orders?" Mike nods "Good because I purchased something that's gonna help you complete them." Quinn says with a chuckle, he takes the gun from Mancini and points it at Skye while Mancini opens the case.

"Orders?" Skye asks "Mike. What is happening here?" she asks as she watches Mancini take an object out of the case and put it on Mike's leg, the one he lost.

"Stand please." Mancini says, Mike does as he's told. As soon as he's standing Mancini turns back to the case and types a few things in before hitting a button. Mike screams in pain as the metal device begins to shift and grow before turning into a robotic leg.

"Mancini, thank you" Quinn says looking at the leg happily as he gives him the gun "You will be receiving your payment shortly." Mancini nods before walking out. "That is the best money can buy, my friend." He says tapping on the leg. "Every piece of technology in you is top of the line. I just wonder if I'm getting my money's worth." He says

"I know you get your orders from the Clairvoyant, so that means you're not allowed to hurt me, right?" Mike just glares at him "No." Quinn says with a smug smile, Skye stares at her friend in shock. Quinn looks at Skye as he pulls a gun from inside of his jacket "What if I tried to hurt you?" he asks as he clocks the gun "Would you stop me?"

"No." Mike says "I would not."

"Mike, listen." Skye says, Mike slowly turns his head to look at the brunette "I dont know what they're doing to you, but we have to get out of here. Now."

"And…" Quinn says as he places the gun into Mike's hand "If I wanted you to hurt her…" he says as he raises Mike's hand so the gun's pointed at Skye, Skye sucks in a breath "You know, kill…Will you?" he asks, Mike and Skye stare at each other "I mean what would hurt Agent Coulson more, than to lose his pet project?"

"Those aren't my orders." Mike says as he hands Quinn the gun "She's not who I'm supposed to kill." He says before making his way to the door.

"Wait. Wait. Wait!" Skye calls after Mike but he's already gone "What the hell did you do to him?" Skye asks, instead of giving her an answer Quinn shoots her. Skye looks up at him in shock and in pain. Quinn walks over to her and pulls Skye into a hug before firing another shot.

Quinn holds her close to him as he gently lays her down on the floor, her face pale from loss of blood.

"I'm sorry." Quinn says as he takes out a handkerchief and wipes his hands "I have my orders too." He says before walking out, leaving Skye bleeding on the ground. Skye gasps as she looks down at her wound.

"Help…" she tries to call out, but to weak to make her voice carry, she grunts as she manages to sit up. Skye's vision blurs as she looks at the door and begins to crawl to it, she manages to open the door but her body is to tired to do anything else. She winces as she leans back against the wall, trying to call out for help but its no use. She only hopes that her team will make it to her on time.

* * *

_WITH KAITLYN: _

Hearing the sound of a fight, the team rushes towards the noise. Kaitlynn shoots one of the guards who was about to shoot Fitz.

"Where's Skye?" Kaitlynn asks as the rest of the team catches up

"S-She didn't want to let Quinn get away" Fitz says pointing to the mansion, the team looks at each other before splitting up already having a plan before getting there.

Kaitlynn and Ward walk into the mansion and shoot all the guards with I.C.E.R.'s, Quinn seeing all his guards go down begins to walk out of the room but freezes when Coulson points a gun to his temple. Coulson slams Quinn on the table to handcuff him, his face contorts with anger when he sees the blood on his hand.

"Where's Skye?" he asks

"You know Agent Coulson its dangerous…to keep sending her in like that all alone…" Quinn says with a smug smile, it takes all of Kaitlyn's will power not to reach over the table and break his jaw "When she means so much to you." She doesn't even hide a smile when Coulson hits Quinn in the face with the butt of his gun and slams him on the table.

"Search the house." Coulson orders "Find her! Now!" he says before they all spread out, leaving May with Quinn.

Kaitlynn storms into the wine room and freezes when she sees Skye lying there

"Skye?" Kaitlynn says as she bends down to the girl "Simmons! Get down here!" she yells as she presses her hands against the wound "Oh god. No. No. Simmons!" she yells again, Coulson the next one to enter the room.

"Just hang on. Hang on." Coulson begs, Kaitlynn stares in shock at all the blood flowing over her hands. As she remembers back to when she was captured. Kaitlynn is torn out of her thoughts when Simmons runs into the room along with the rest of the team.

"She's been shot." Kaitlynn says

"Keep her up right." Simmons orders, Kaitlynn does as she's told

"I got no pulse" Coulson says

"Uh…she's lost too much blood. I don't…" Simmons says but stops when she sees the machine that Mike was in "Put her in there."

"Do you even know that this thing is?" Ward asks

"It's a hyperbaric chamber, and I said put her in there now!" Simmons yells, Kaitlyn wastes no time hesitating and picks Skye up before gently laying her town in the machine. "I need to get her temperature down. Fitz." Simmons says

"Yeah I got it, I got it." Fitz says as he starts to activate the machine while Coulson and May close Skye in. They all watch through the glass hopefully to see any sign of life in their friend.

"Temperatures dropping" Fitz says

"Pressure's stabilizing." Simmons adds

"Is it working?" Kaitlynn asks trying to keep her voice from shaking

"Is it working?!" Coulson yells when no one answers, they all let out a sigh of relief when they see Skye let out a breath.

"For now." Simmons says

* * *

_THAT NIGHT: _

They are all back on the plane, Quinn is locked in the holding cell and Skye is still in the hyperbaric chamber. They are flying her to the nearest hospital. The team is gathered around watching Skye through the chamber.

"Her core temperature's hovering around 44 degrees Fahrenheit. If we don't bring her back up to temp in the next few hours, she could sustain permanent brain damage." Simmons says trying to keep her voice in check "We need to get her to a medical facility and fast. Until then ill do everything I can to keep her alive. Excuse me." She says before walking away not wanting to breakdown in front of the team. Kaitlynn give Skye one last longing look before walking out, not noticing Ward and May do the same.

Kaitlynn quickly walks to the bathroom and locks herself inside, she looks at herself in the mirror. Memories flashing before her eyes of Skye dying in her arms and the hell those people put her through, especially the blood…so much blood.

Kaitlynn takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, when she opens them their cold and emotionless. Calmly she turns the sink on and washes the blood off her skin, until her skin turns raw. She turns the sink off and dries her hands before exiting the bathroom, nearly running into May.

"Excuse me." Kaitlynn says emotionlessly, she goes to walk by but May grabs her arm.

"No. Don't do this." May says knowing what Kaitlyn's doing "Don't put a mask on. You need to let it out…or your going to explode." She says having seen this happen to the blonde years ago.

"I'm not putting on a mask." Kaitlynn says her voice neutral "There's nothing to hide." She says before turning around and walking away. May sighs knowing when Kaitlynn does finally explode its going to be bad. Since as long as May's known her there's two ways this will happen, one she'll breakdown and cry or two, the more painful option she gets pissed. The second option is never pleasant and usually ends up with someone's bones being broken.


	9. Chapter 9

About two hours later they finally reach the hospital, and are immediately greeted with a swarm of doctors. Coulson and Simmons quickly walk with the doctors, Skye still in the machine as they push her to the ER, informing them of Skye's situation. Leaving Kaitlynn and the rest of the team to wait in the lobby.

"She was shot twice in the abdomen" Coulson says to the doctor "At close range almost two hours ago."

"She's tachycardic, hypotensive, and lost a significant amount of blood" Simmons adds "We had to lower her core body temp in order to transport her here."

"Its probably what kept her alive this long." The doctor says "We'll do everything we can." She says before pushing Skye into the ER.

"Oh dear I'm a mess" Simmons says once the doors to the ER close

"No. You were great." Coulson says, they watch the surgeons work on Skye through the glass doors for a few minutes before walking away to join the others in the lobby. Coulson takes out his phone and dials Fury's number wanting to know exactly what happened in T.A.H.I.T.I.

In the lobby Kaitlynn is leaned up against the wall away from everyone, Fitz and Simmons are on the couch, Ward is in a single seat, Coulson is on the phone arguing with someone wanting to contact Fury and May is leaning against the wall by Coulson looking out the window. All of them thinking it was their fault that Skye got shot. May sighs and walks over to them having over heard Fitz-Simmons and Ward blaming themselves.

"The one to blame is the man who shot her, Ian Quinn. He's responsible." May says making eye contact with each of them, her eyes staying on Kaitlynn for a little longer. The only reaction Kaitlynn gives of having taking in what May was saying was the sight of her jaw tightening.

A few hours later the doctors emerge from the ER, they all stand up when they see the doctor wanting to know what happened to their friend.

"How is she?" Coulson asks

"Not good." The doctor says "The shots perforated her stomach and penetrated the large and small intestines. We resected what we could but…there's been to much damage."

"So what's next?" Coulson asks

"We can keep her comfortable, but you'll need to make a decision on whether or not you want to keep her on life support" She says, Kaitlynn's hand tightens into a fists, her knuckles turning white.

"You're saying there's nothing to be done?" Coulson asks

"I'm saying you need to call her family" the doctor says sadly "And get them here as soon as possible."

"We're her family." Coulson says, the doctor looks around at the heartbroken team.

"In that case, I'm very sorry." She says before walking away. Kaitlynn locks her jaw as she takes a deep breath before walking out of the hospital.

May watches her go, knowing that Kaitlynn has finally snapped. She doesn't say anything to the others, wanting Quinn to get what's coming to him.

Kaitlynn calmly walks into the holding cell and glares at the man responsible for Skye getting hurt as the door closes behind her.

"Finally." Quinn says "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten-" Quinn starts smugly but is cut off when Kaitlynn slams his head into the table. She kicks the chair out from under him, making it go flying across the room. Before punching him "Wait. You can't!" Quinn yells

"Why?" Kaitlynn growls sending another punch "Because your defenseless?" _Punch_ "like she was!?" she yells before straddling him and punching him repeatedly.

She ignored the sound of his nose breaking under her fist and just keeps hitting him, every punch feeling like he got hit with a truck. She freezes when she feels a hand on her wrist, looking up she sees May.

"Stop." May orders, Kaitlynn was so lost in hitting Quinn that she didn't hear May, Coulson and Ward come in. Kaitlynn rips her hand out of May's and wraps it around Quinn's throat before leaning down.

"If she dies. You die." She hisses before letting go and standing up, leaving a broken and bloody Quinn gasping for air on the floor with a look of pure fear on his face. Kaitlyn ignores the look May and Coulson are sending her and storms out of the cell and towards her room, only to be stopped by her two parent figures.

"He deserves to die, not her." Kaitlynn says practically steaming

"Agreed but right not Quinn doesn't matter" Coulson says "Only Skye does, and I need you to have your head on straight."

"Why? You heard what the doctor said." Kaitlynn says ignoring the look Ward is giving her from behind May and Coulson, one filled with shock and a hint of fear.

"She said there was nothing more they could do for her" May says

"There are doctors who brought me back from the dead." Coulson continues "If they can do that, I'm betting they can save Skye." Kaitlynn looks between the two adults trying to judge if they're serious or not, realizing they are she nods. Willing to do anything if it meant being able to save Skye.

* * *

A little while later, Skye is loaded into the plane in her own little quarantine area, once she's in they take off towards Bethesda. Kaitlynn, Simmons and Fitz are in the lab as Coulson explains why they are going to Bethesda and what he knows of the procedure that brought him back from the dead.

"That can't be." Simmons says "What you're describing its medically impossible"

"Except for the fact I'm standing here" Coulson says "Proof its not impossible. And here's more proof" he says as he puts his file on the table "My file describing how they brought me back. The doctors, the procedures, the drugs."

"Sir…its against the law for us to read this. Are you sure?" Fitz asks seeing that it has level 10 clearance stamped on the file.

"I don't care about your clearance level." Coulson says "I'm ordering you to read it." Simmons quickly reaches over and opens the file.

"Death and recovery report" Kaitlynn reads over the bio-chemist's shoulder

"Its only recently that Director Fury, gave me access to this." Coulson says "I've gone over it a dozens of times. I need you to decipher the medical parts of it I didn't understand. Feel free to reach out to Dr. Streinten. He should be eager to answer any questions you may have."

"Yes, I'm sure ill have quite a few" Simmons says

"So what about T.A.H.I.T.I?" Fitz asks

"Turns out not so magical, just false memories implanted to cover up what was done." Coulson says

"Sir..it says here your heart was perorated, torn in half." Simmons says

"That part I understood" Coulson says with a nod "And yet, they managed to heal the damaged tissue completely. We need to understand how."

"So we can do the same for Skye" Kaitlynn says

"That's what I'm counting on." Coulson says

"We'll get right on it sir" Simmons says

"Thank you." Coulson says before walking out, Kaitlynn follows him

"Coulson…I was wondering… Why did you pair me up with Fitz-Simmons?" she asks "This is their area not mine."

"Your right its not." Coulson says "But you have a knack for picking out things others don't, I need those skills on this right now…besides don't count yourself short, you almost went to the science academy if I remember correctly." He says as he gives her a small smile before walking away. Kaitlynn sighs before heading back to the lab to help Simmons and Fitz find something, anything that can maybe save Skye.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Kaitlyn looks up from the file when she feels the plane shake.

"What was that?" Simmons asks, Kaitlynn shrugs

"I'll go check it out." Kaitlynn says as she puts the file down "You guys keep looking." She says as she walks out of the lab.

Kaitlynn sees Ward standing by the staircase

"Ward. What was that?" Kaitlynn asks

"S.H.I.E.L.D. they sent three small transport planes to pick up Quinn." Ward says

"What? Coulson's not going to let them right? I mean not after what he did to Skye?" Kaitlynn asks angrily

"I don't think Coulson will even let them touch him." Ward says, Kaitlynn forces herself to relax as they wait for their orders from Coulson.

Ward and Kaitlynn see a dark skinned man walking towards them, he smiles when he sees them.

"Agent Grant Ward." He says

"Trip." Ward says as he shakes his old friends hand "Is Garrett upstairs?"

"Yeah." Trip say "You know he still talks about that thousand yard shot you took in Bandung."

"It was 2,000. So what are you doing here?" Ward asks

"Man, this is like the playboy jet." Trip says ignoring his question, patting Ward on the shoulder "I mean a guy could get soft bunking in a space like this." He says as he looks around. He stops when he sees Kaitlyn

"Hello….I don't believe we met" Trip says giving her a small smile

"Kaitlynn Robinson." Kaitlynn says as she shakes Trip's hand

"The Angel!?" Tripp says shocked "Garrett didn't tell me you were-" he's cut off by Kaitlynn squeezing his hand.

"Don't Call me that." She glares as she tightens her hold, Tripp winces

"My bad" he says, Kaitlynn gives a final squeeze before letting go of his hand with a nod. Trip watches as the blonde walks away, before turning to Ward, rubbing his throbbing hand "How did Coulson swing such a sweet ride?"

"He died." Ward says

"That's tight." Trip says sadly before getting down to business "You want to point me to the box you're keeping Quinn? H.Q. ordered Garrett to haul his ass to the fridge for questioning." He says before stopping when he sees the bar "Is that a full bar?"

"You're welcome to it." Ward says "But uh Quinn stays put till Coulson says otherwise."

"Come on, man." Tripp says as they begin circling each other "Garrett was your S.O. too, so you know how this works."

"Why don't you remind me?"

"Garrett wants Quinn." Trip says "Its my job to make sure Garrett gets what he wants. Now where is he?"

"Can't help you with that."

"No worries. I'll find Quinn myself." Tripp says "I'm sure he's tucked between the Jacuzzi and the squash court." Trip goes to leave but is stopped when Ward grabs his arm. Trip turns around and kicks Ward, sending them into a brawl.

"Agent Ward, stand down" Coulson orders as him and Garett walk into the room, Ward glares at Trip before backing up. "Agent Garrett and I have come to an agreement. He convinced H.Q. he could interrogate Quinn here on our plan as we continue to Bethesda."

"Well I'm about a bit of a sweet talker when I need to be." Garett says "You wouldn't believe what I could talk this son of a gun into." He says looking a Ward whose shaking his head. "Good seeing you, son."

"You too sir. And thank you." Ward says

"Saving the girls top priority and she might know something." Garrett says

* * *

_With KAITLYNN_

Kaitlynn sighs as she looks at Skye through the glass, watching the line on the monitor move up and down signaling Skye's heartbeat. Kaitlynn takes a deep breath reminding herself that Skye is alive and they are going to save her. She gives Skye one last look before walking back to the lab to help Fitz-Simmons.

"I've never heard of half the drugs they gave Coulson." Simmons says "Gh-325? And what about this robotic assisted neural micro surgery they used to implant the Tahiti memories? It all sounds diabolical."

"It is. But is the only way to save Skye." Kaitlynn says as she walks into the room "Find anything?"

"Besides a number of drugs that we have nod idea about? No." Simmons sighs

"We can't disagree with the results." Fitz says "Not with Coulson up and walking around."

"Yeah but at what cost?" Simmons asks as they look up at the screen to see Skye laying in the hospital bed. "You both read the transcripts. He begged the doctors to let him die."

"This is different Skye's still alive" Fitz says

"And we are going to keep her that way." Kaitlynn says determinedly "We are going to save her." Simmons nods before pulling out her buzzing cellphone

"I asked Dr. Streiten to advise us" Simmons says "Hello?...Yes…Are you sure?...that cant be…." Simmons says before ending her call.

"What is it?" Fitz asks, Simmons looks down at her phone in shock before telling them what she learned.

"I'll get Coulson…" Kaitlynn says before walking out

* * *

_WITH QUINN: _

Quinn jumps when the door opens, his face bloody and swollen from when Kaitlynn beat him.

"And here I though I was gonna get to play bad cop." Garrett says seeing his face.

"Ian Quinn, this is Agent Garrett." Coulson says "He's here to ask you some questions."

"Oh no thank you." Quinn says "I—My heads still ringing from the last visitor."

"At least the last visitor left you with your head." Garrett says "I'm not always that considerate. I'm interested in one of your newer projects."

"Hmm? Oh but there are so many to choose from." Quinn says, he grunts when Garret reaches out and grabs his tongue

"Let me be clear you have no rights." Garrett threatens "You have no lawyer. The only thing keeping Agent Coulson here from throwing you out of this plane is the very weak heartbeat of a young agent downstairs, and the only incentive I have for not tearing your tongue out is that you use it to answer my questions. Is that clear?" Quinn nods

"MM-HMM" he sounds

"You understand that?" Garret asks Coulson

"No." Coulson says, Garrett turns back to Quinn and squeezes his tongue making Quinn groan and nod his head until Garrett lets go.

"Tell us about Cybertek and the deathlok program." Garett says as he takes the napking from Coulson and sits down.

"Deathlok?" Coulson asks

"Catchy right?" Garrett says "Sounds like some wrestler from the 80's. What is it really?"

"Those are dangerous waters, and the last agent who waded into them wound up with two in the stomach." Quinn says, Coulson goes at Quinn making the other man freeze but Garrett pulls him back. Once Coulson is calm Garrett punches Quinn in the face "So…she's still alive?"

"Yeah. And you better hope she stays that way." Garret says

"Is that why you shot Skye, because she saw what cybertek delivered?" Coulson asks

"No. I shot Skye because that's what the Clairvoyant told me to do." Quinn says

* * *

_IN THE LAB _

Kaitlynn comes back to the lab with May in tow instead, since Coulson was with Garrett speaking with Quinn.

"Coulson's interrogating Quinn." Kaitlynn says as an explanation as she and May walk into the lab.

"What's going on?" May asks

"I just got off the phone with the trauma center in Bethesda." Simmons say "Dr. Streinten's gone off the grid."

"So we'll find a different doctor there who operated on Coulson." May says

"That's the thing actually…" Fitz says

"Coulson was never treated there." Kaitlynn fills in

"You're not making sense." May says confused

"None of this is making sense." Simmons says "The doctors listed, the operating room number—none of them exists. None of them are part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

* * *

_WITH QUINN _

"What I find surprising is how big shot billionaire could fall for this psychic mumbo jumbo." Garrett says from where he's leaning back in the chair.

"I doubted it at the beginning, but then I realized it would be mutually beneficial." Quinn says

"He must have something pretty terrible on you." Coulson says "Shooting an unarmed girl?"

"Lets just say I learned the hard way that obeying was in my best interest."

"Yet…Here you are." Garret says, Quinn looks between the two agents before speaking

"Let me assure you it wasn't luck that led me to your partner's black sedan in Berlin or that he'd open the door for a redhead or those two agents in Morocco." He says "Do you think it was just a roll of the dice that my people found them in that raid? No, it was the Clairvoyant."

"Your Clairvoyant say anything about me knocking your teeth in?" Garrett asks

"The Clairvoyant sees everything…except what happened to him." Quinn says as he points to Coulson

"This is still about me." Coulson says in realization

"Wait." Garrett says standing up "You're gonna need to rewind the tape, Phil." Coulson sighs as he turns to the other man

"You heard about my near death before the battle of New York?" He asks "There's more to it than that. I thought I was gone for seconds—turns out it was days."

"That's impossible." Garett says

"Which is why the Clairvoyant will do anything to know how it happened." Quinn says

"Even order you to shoot Skye." Coulson says

"Wait. You don't know what S.H.I.E.L.D. did to save you." Garrett says

"That's why we're flying to where I was treated."

"So shooting the girl forces you to figure it all out."

"So the Clairvoyant can finally see." Quinn adds

"Or you let the girl die." Garrett says, Coulson sighs.

Garrett and Coulson ask Quinn a few more questions before leaving the room to see if the others found anything. Coulson, Kaitlynn, May and Simmons are all in his office discussing what they found.

"Quinn shot Skye for nothing." May says "The place we were going, the doctors who treated you, they don't exist."

"Or maybe thy exist somewhere else." Coulson says "This is S.H.I.E.L.D there are always secrets."

"That's my fear, sir" Simmons says "Your file is filled with secrets experimental drugs, unknown surgical procedures we've never heard of. Frankly Fitz, Kaitlynn and I only understand only 70% of what's in here."

"Even if we do find where they treated you and we were able to replicate the procedure, there's the other obvious question." May says

"Which is?" Coulson asks

"Whether we should." Simmons says "What you experienced sir, if this file is even partially accurate-"

"No ones suggesting that we submit Skye to everything I went through" Coulson says "But if there's something in here—a drug, a treatment that can save her, we need to find it." Coulson says, Kaitlynn nods

"Coulson's right…we can't just let Skye die." She says

"Figure it out." Coulson says, Jemma nods

"Yes sir" she says before walking out of the office, Kaitlynn nods at Coulson before following the scientist out.

"You disagree?" Coulson asks seeing Mays look

"No." May says "I think we need to do everything humanly possible to save Skye. But we need to acknowledge that doing so might give the Clairvoyant exactly what he wants."

"It's a risk we have to take." Coulson says

* * *

_WITH SKYE _

Kaitlynn and Simmons sit out of Skye's room staring at their friend

"How Is she?" Fitz asks joining them

"Deteriorating, and I don't know how to stop it." Simmons says "The only thing I've found remotely interesting is something called GH-325"

"Some kind of drug?" Kaitlynn asks

"Agent Coulson was injected with that, and literally minutes later, his wounds showed signs of cellular regeneration."

"Regeneration? Is that even possible?" Fitz asks

"Even if this miracle drug does exist, we don't know where to find it." Simmons says "We have no coordinates, no logs of anyone's departure or arrival."

"I think maybe I can help with that." Fitz says before walking away, Simmons and Kaitlynn give Skye one last look before following their friend.

"You've set up the echo chamber" Simmons says

"Yeah I made a couple of calls" Fitz says "A buddy of mine works in the archives at the Triskelion. Agreed to let us access it from here." He says as he pulls up a cube

"Hard to believe, this cube contains all of S.H.I.E.L.D.s historical administrative data." Kaitlynn says ignoring the surprised look from Fitz and Simmons "What? I know things" she says with a shrug

"If Agent Coulson's operation didn't take place at a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility-" Simmons says

"-We wont find any record of it on here. I know" Fitz interrupts "But this also contains all interoffice memos, travel arrangements, purchased orders. Maybe we can track down the location through a virtual paper trail of some sort or another." He says looking at both girls

"Its worth a shot." Kaitlynn says, Fitz nods before opening the the cube to see hundreds of files "'This may take a while." Kaitlynn sighs, the other scientist's nod.

"Okay. Well lets start with travel memoranda from the date Coulson got stabbed" Simmons says before moving through the files to the date in question.

"What about Dr. Streiten's departure from the Triskeltion?" Kaitlynn asks seeing how many files there were left, Fitz moves the files till he finds the one the section he was looking for. The look through the files until they finally find something.

"A world war two bunker?" Simmons reads confused

"A Collapsed bunker." Fitz says highlighting the information on the tablet "Definitely not a sanctioned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.

"The guest house?" Simmons reads

"I get it." Kaitlynn says "Guest House. G.H. as in GH-325!" she says, happy that they are finally getting somewhere. "Look at the files access history."

"The only record of it being opened…" Simmons says

"Is by a level 10 operative." Fitz says

"Director Fury." They all say at the same time

"So Fury's been to this place, and he's the person who sanctioned the operations on Agent Coulson." Simmons says "And why aren't you trying to find the file?"

Fitz closes the file and flips through until opening the other, the words ENCYRPTED pop up in red as numbers flash.

"Encrypted. Skye could crack this." Simmons says sadly, Kaitlynn runs he fingers through her hair frustrated as she stares at the numbers flashing before her.

"What would she do?" Fitz says, Kaitlynn stares at the numbers before an idea pops into her head. She pushes the numbers making them spread out.

"Its not an encryption." She says with a small smile as she realized what it is, she twists the numbers around "It's a map." She says, they all smile at each other before running back to their computers and trying to find exactly where the bunker is.

* * *

_TIME SKIP: _

A little while later they land at the location.

"The guest house is not a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility." Coulson says as he loads his gun "We don't know who or what's in there. Be prepared for potential resistance."

"No contact from inside?" Kaitlynn asks as she finishes getting ready

"I've tired every known channel. No response." May says

"Place could be abandoned." Ward says

"Lets hope not. We need the people inside to work on Skye." Coulson says

"Simmons is prepping Skye to move at a moments notice, sir" Fitz says

"Trip can help. He's had med-tech training." Garrett says

"Good. We do our jobs right this will all go peacefully." Coulson says

"What if they don't want to help us?" Ward asks

"I'll say Pretty Please" Garrett says as he holds up his gun

"We need the doctors alive and the place intact." Coulson informs "If It does go sideways Fitz I need you down there to determine what Simmons can use to help Skye." Fitz nods "And then we take it. Let's move." He orders, Kaitlynn nods as she cocks her gun and walks out of the plane the others behind her as she heads towards the bunker.

"How was the drive from Istanbul?" a voice says over the speaker once they reach the bunker

"Countersign?" Coulson asks

"No clue." Garrett says

"Never heard it before." Kaitlyn says

"I can't find it any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocol directives" Fitz says

"This is Agent Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D. we don't know the counter, but we have a team member in dire need of medical assistance." Coulson says "We know she can be treated here. Open the doors. Maybe we can work something out. Do you copy?"

"How was the drive from Istanbul?" the voice asks again

"We're looking fro medical assistance." Coulson says "A person's life is at stake will you help us?"

"How was the drive from Istanbul?"

"Pretty please it is." Garrett says, Kaitlynn raises her gun and shoots out the camera. Fitz takes out his drill and hacks into the security system and unlocks the door. Once the door is open they all run inside. They get on the elevator and go down a floor, before climbing on top of it.

"There's an antechamber and a set of class doors." Fitz says looking at the tablet, having put a camera in the elevator. "Can't see much beyond that. Lights are all out."

"Well they know we're coming. Let's go say hello" Coulson says, Kaitlynn the first one to jump through the shaft.

"Clear." She calls up, Ward jumps out next followed by Garrett, Coulson and Fitz.

"Comms are down" Fitz says having tried and failed to contact Simmons. "There's to much mountain on top of us.

"Trust me. Its better. You don't want them hearing the horrible death we're walking into." Garrett says, Fitz stares at him unamused making Kaitlynn smirk at the scientist face "Humor son, you brits are too serious. Besides is the job was easy…"

"…It wouldn't be any fun" Ward finishes

"I'm not afraid. Not yet." Fitz says as he walks past them "I suspect the real damage wont happen until we breach that bulletproof glass."

"Probably a stairwell back to the surface." Kaitlynn says seeing a door by the elevator

"What do you think Fitz? Can you get us inside?" Coulson asks as they move towards the door

"To certain horrible death? Absolutely." He says as he begins to hack into it "Okay Sir just say the word" Fitz says ready to open the door.

"Once we get inside, everybody find cover." Coulson orders "Alright Gentlemen, and ladies. Here we go." He says before nodding to Fitz, the doors open with a beep. Kaitlynn and Ward are the first to go in, then Coulson and Garrett then Fitz. They all take cover behind desks. As soon as the doors close two armed men start firing at them.

"We've come for medical assistance." Coulson says once they stop to reload "But if you continue firing on use, we will defend ourselves." He says but they continue to fire.

"I count two hostiles." Ward says

"Copy that. Ready?" Garrett says, Ward and Kaitlynn nod before they all jump up an begin to return fire.

"You got one of those little flash things?" Coulson asks

"Yeah" Fitz says as he pulls one out of his pocket and hands it to Coulson. Coulson looks at his team, receiving a nod from Kaitlynn he throws it.

"Kaitlynn." He calls, the flash goes off. Ward manages to shoot one in the leg. The other hostile continues to fire, Kaitlynn jumps up and fires three rounds. She ducks back under the table cursing when a stray bullet grazes her arm.

"God Damnit." She curses seeing the blood "I'm done playing." She growls angrily before standing up "Hey!" she calls at the hostile, he turns away from firing at Garrett to her. Before he can pull the trigger she fires two shots, both of them hitting him in the head. "Clear!" she calls out, she ignores the impressed look that Ward and Garrett are sending her.

"Really lives up to the legend." Ward mumbles under his breath as he follows Coulson to find the injured hostile. They find the injured man leaning against the wall bleeding out.

"We're going to get you medical help." Coulson says as he takes his keys "Is there anyone else down here? Where are the doctors?"

"Med staff doesn't stay here." The man says

"We're looking for a drug GH-325." Coulson says "It might help you too."

"Do I…Know you?"

"I don't know. I-I might have spent some time here awhile back." Coulson says

"Then you know about….the timer."

"We got a problem!" Garett calls, Coulson turns back to the guard to ask more questions but finds him dead.

"Semtex." Garrett says as Coulson and Ward walk back into the room "This whole place is rigged to blow."

"There's enough explosive to bring down the mountain on top of us." Kaitlynn says

"Sir less than 10 minutes" Ward says showing Coulson the timer

"Its probably a failsafe. If the guards had eliminated us, they'd stop the timer." Kaitlynn says

"Since they didn't…" Coulson says trailing off

"Its some kind of emergency override." Fitz says "Skye could probably get past it, but I cant hack the panel, which means we're trapped in here."

"You're the guy who taught Ward how to disarm nuclear bombs." Coulson says turning towards Garrett "Figure out a way to get us out of here. Let's go find the drug." He says, Kaitlynn and Fitz nod before following him out of the room.

"So this is some sort of medical facility?" Fitz asks

"Yeah but if nobodys here, I'm not sure its gonna do us any good." Coulson says they stop when they see a viewing room. Coulson freezes when he opens the door and sees the operating room through the glass, remembering what happened to him.

"Is that where…" Kaitlynn asks

"Yeah." Coulson says before walking out. The stop between two doors labeled Biohazard containment the other labeled drugs and supplies.

"Kaitlynn check the other door." Coulson order, Kaitlynn nods and walks into the other room.

"Sir are you sure you want to?" Fitz asks, Coulson ignores him and opens it "We should put suits on before we walk into there." Fitz says

"Your right but there's no time." Coulson says before going into the room stacked full with vials of medicine.

"I wish I could speak to Simmons." Fitz says "She'd know what most of this stuff is or at least what stuff not to touch." He says before helping Coulson in his search.

"Fitz." Coulson calls seeing a fridge filled with drugs, they walk over and turn the light on.

"I don't see any G.H…" he says before moving to the other fridge "Agent Coulson" he says seeing a bottle labeled biohazard. "Its locked." He says

"Here put these on." Coulson says handing him a pair of gloves before pulling the keys that he took from the guard out and unlocks the door.

"Time to go. We couldn't stop it. Four minutes and Counting." Ward says as he runs into the room.

"Almost there." Coulson says as Fitz opens the capsule to reveal vials of the serum

"There's Semtex right here as well" Ward notes

"This is it. #25" Fitz says "This is the one we want." He says holding it up

"We got to go." Coulson says "Get it up to Simmons." He orders, but stops when he sees something.

"Sir." Ward says

"I'll be right behind you. GO." Coulson orders, Ward hesitates before leaving.

Kaitlynn walks out of the other room and nearly runs into Ward

"Where's Coulson?"

"In there." Ward points "We have less then Four minutes till this place blows. We got to go."

"I'll get Coulson." She says before they go in their separate directions. "Coulson we have to-" she stops when she sees him standing in front a door labeled T.A.H.I.T.I. "Is that…"

"Yeah." Coulson says as Kaitlynn walks closer to him, they look at each other before Coulson opens the door.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Coulson and Kaitlynn walk away from the room in shock, only breaking out of it when Garett runs up to them yelling.

"You can't give it to her." Kaitlynn says when she hears the drug is on its way to Skye

"They Can't give it to her!" Coulson yells with Kaitlynn

"Alright well you tell them yourself" Garett says before forcing them to run out of the bunker and to the plane. They just make it to the plane as the bomb goes off. As soon as their on the plane they take off, Coulson and Kaitlynn run into Skye's room yelling not to give her the serum, but its too late. They all stare in shock as Skye flat lines.

"I was losing her, anyway. What harm can it do?" Simmons says as Skye's heart rate comes back up, as May walks back into the room.

"Come on girl." Trip says

"Its working." Garrett says as her heart rate reaches 60

"She's spiking." Simmons says as Skye's heart rate jumps to 195

"Stop it." Kaitlynn says

"How can we stop it? Skye!" Ward says as they all watch their friend helplessly

"What's happening?" Coulson asks, Simmons just shakes her head

"Do something. We have to do something." Fitz says, they all watch as Skye stops gasping and her heart rate begins to lower back to normal.

"Her heart rate. Its stabilizing." Simmons says

"Simmons?" Coulson asks, Simmons nods

"Could someone tell me what we just saw?" Ward asks

"The girls a fighter." Trip says "What was that stuff you gave her?"

"I don't know. All I know is that it worked." Simmons says seeing the look Coulson gives her.

"You're a real miracle worker." Trip says

"You did it." May says to Coulson who's still staring at Skye in shock, he looks at May before walking out. Kaitlynn watches him leave before following him, May staring after them.

"Something happen down there?" She asks Garrett

"I'm not sure. One minute, they were fine. The next, it was like they had seen a ghost." Garrett says

* * *

_WITH QUINN _

"I have good news and bad news." Garrett says as he walks into the room where Quinn is being held "Which would you like first?" Quinn doesn't answer "Bad news then. There's a fair amount. Your Clairvoyant, the one who said he'd have your back he's a no show." He says "The site we were supposed to lead him to with our minds blown to pieces, buried under 100 feet of rock. It seems the only psychic power your buddy has shown is the ability to predict if you tell a rich, entitled dirt bag he's going to get away with murder, he'll believe it."

"Trip." Garret orders, Trip silently walks over and unhand cuffs Quinn "Girls gonna live. Live to testify how a billionaire shot her point blank in the stomach. Oh we got a great home movie of you admitting that, Genius." Garrett says "This Clairvoyant played you and left you to rot."

"You said there was good news." Quinn says

"I did? Oh yeah. You still have your tongue." Garrett says before Trip leads him out of the room and up to the plane.

"I want to thank you, Garrett" Coulson says to Garrett who was following behind Trip before Coulson stopped him "For letting us keep Quinn on the plane."

"Don't mention it." Garrett says "There's still time for me to make the rest of his life a long, living hell."

"I'm counting on it."

"Something I need to ask you Phil."

"Of course."

"We'd known each other a long time."

"We have."

"Been in our share of tight spots together." Garrett says "If it had gone the other way if Skye hadn't survived, were you really prepared to throw Quinn off this plane?"

"You were the one who made that threat." Coulson says with a smirk "I just asked to keep him on the plane for awhile."

"Your right. It was me." Garrett says "My mistake."

"Till next time." Coulson says as they shake hands

"Might be sooner than you think" Garrett says "My man Trip's got eyes from that biotech gal of yours." He says before walking up the stares to him plane.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

After his talk with May, Coulson searches for Kaitlyn, he stops in front of her room and knocks on the door. Hearing a muffled come in, before walking in to see Kaitlynn wearing a tank top sewing up her gun shot wound.

"Why don't you have Simmons look at that?" Coulson says

"Nah…she's got enough to deal with." Kaitlynn says as she finished sewing the wound shut "Besides I'm done." She says with a wince as she cuts the string before placing a bandage on it. "Did you need something?" she asks, Coulson nods before closing the door behind him and sitting on the bed next to her.

"About what we saw down there…"

"I won't tell anyone." Kaitlyn says

"Its to dangerous…we don't know what this drug did to her."

"I agree…" Kaitlynn says with a nod "Are we going to tell her? Skye deserves to know."

"…your right…" Coulson says with a sigh "We have to keep this between us and Skye. No one else can know. Not May, Not Fitz-Simmons. No one." He says, Kaitlynn nods her head in understanding. "Okay…get some rest." Coulson says giving her a small smile before walking out.

Kaitlynn sighs as she thinks back to what they saw in the bunker.

* * *

_ _FLASHBACK_ _

Coulson and Kaitlynn walk into the room to see an operating table and a fridge filled with GH drugs.

"Coulson. Look at this." Kaitlynn says seeing tubes filled with a light blue liquid, they follow the rubes back to a machine labeled G.H. "What the hell is that?" Kaitlyn asks

"I don't know. But we are about to find out." Coulson says before hitting a red button, the machine opens and a large cylinder pops out. A blue alien floating in the cylinder, its body cut in half with tubes stuffed inside it.

"Holy shit." Kaitlynn says in shock as they both stare at the alien.

_ _FLASHBACK END_ _

* * *

Kaitlynn sighs and rubs her hands over her face, silently hoping that neither Skye or Coulson end up like that thing they found. She lays down on her bed, knowing that she will do everything she can in order to protect the people she loves before falling asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Kaitlynn awakens to the sound of Max screaming in pain and the sound of a drill. She looks over to see Dr. James standing over him with his back towards her, Max's screams die down as the drilling noise stops.**

 **"What did you do to him?" Kaitlynn asks staring at Max's unconscious body, seeing a square metal device drilled into his head.**

 **"The next phase." James says smiling proudly, as he picks up a small pouch with three needles sticking out the end, in his blood soaked gloves. This one different from the one Max now has in his head.**

 **"What is that?" Kaitlynn asks staring in fear at the object, James smiles wickedly down at the blonde.**

 **"Something that will make you better." He says, before Kaitlyn can respond James forcefully moves her head to the side and places the object against her head the same place where Max's is. She doesn't feel anything at first, until she feels the needles piercing her skull and into her brain. The pain is so bad that she doesn't scream, she lies on the table withering in pain as the needles force their way into her skull.**

 **"Good. Good. Phase 2 is complete. And we're just getting started." James says, his voice is the last thing Kaitlynn hears before blacking out.**

 **_DREAM END: _**

* * *

Kaitlynn gasps for air as she looks around her room, she sighs as she lays her head in her hands. Running her hands over her face and through her hair as she tries to shake off the dream. After a few minutes, Kaitlyn stands up and strips out of her sweat soaked clothes and into a pair of sweatpants and tank top. She pulls on pair of shoes before walking out of the room.

She stops by the kitchen and grabs a bottle of water before wandering around the plane, having no destination in mind but she stops when she finds herself in front on Skye's room.

She looks at Skye through the window before walking into the room and sitting in the chair next to the bed. She watches as her chest rises and falls, listening to the background noise of the monitor as she thinks back to the other day. What she and Coulson had seen in the bunker, she prays that whatever the hell was in that serum that it doesn't effect Skye.

Kaitlynn sighs as puts her head in her hands exhausted from both from the lack of sleep and worrying about Skye. She lifts her head up when she hears a voice.

"Hey stranger." Skye says, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

"Hey…Your awake." Kaitlyn says with a small smile, happy to see her friend up and talking.

"Yeah…do you umm…" Skye says motioning to her throat, Kaitlynn quickly grabs her water bottle from where she placed it on the ground and helps Skye take a few sips.

"Thanks." Skye says with a small smile

"No problem." Kaitlynn says as she screws the cap back on and places it back on the floor.

"What happened to your arm?" Skye asks her eye brows scrunching together worriedly when she sees the blonde's bandaged arm.

"I uh… got shot…it was just a graze though" Kaitlynn says looking at her arm

"You got shot?"

"Yeah…not as bad as you though…" Kaitlynn says sadly as she looks at Skye's abdomen that's underneath the blankets, knowing that if she moved them she'd find bandages where two bullets tore through her.

"Hey I'm okay." Skye says as she gently grabs Kaitlyn's hand, feeling the pressure on her hand Kaitlynn tears her eyes away from Skye's abdomen to meet brown eyes.

"Yeah…I know…." She says with a small smile, Skye smiles back but it soon turns into a frown when she sees the wounds on Kaitlynn's knuckles. The hacker raises and eyebrow at the blonde, silently asking what happened. "I had a _chat_ with Quinn…" Kaitlynn says smirking at the memory.

"Really?" Skye asks somewhat surprised, Kaitlynn nods "Wish I was there to see it." She pouts, Kaitlynn smiles slightly at the brunette's pout.

"You can probably see it on the security footage." She says making Skye smile

"I look forward to it." Skye says, the two girls stare at each other before Skye yawns.

"You should get some rest…" Kaitlynn says, Skye nods

"What about you?"

"I'll be here when you wake up."

"Are you going to get some sleep?" Skye asks through half lidded eyes

"Ill try…"

"Promise?" Skye mumbles as she begins to drift off, Kaitlyn smiles

"Promise…" she says watching as the brunette falls into a deep sleep.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Skye wakes up to the sound of Kaitlynn mumbling, she looks down to see Kaitlyn asleep with her head rested on her arms on the side of her bed. Skye gently hushes her as she runs her fingers through the blonde's hair, she smiles when she feels Kaitlynn immediately relax into her hand. Skye continues to massage Kaitlynn's head until falling asleep herself, her hand tangled in Kaitlynn's hair. That's how Simmons found them in the morning.

Simmons stares at the two agents in confusion, having no idea that there was anything going on between them. Shaking it off, she silently walks over to the bed and draws a few vials of blood from Skye.

"Hey Jemma-" Fitz says walking into the room but is cut off when Simmons shushes him.

"Don't wake them." She whispers before walking out, closing the door behind her as she exits, with Fitz behind her.

"What is it?" Simmons asks

"Nothing…I was just wondering if you drawled anymore blood" Fitz says distractedly "And what's going on between Skye and Kaitlynn?" he asks looking through the window where the two girls are sleeping.

"I haven't the slightest clue." Jemma says as she looks at her friend "They'd make a cute couple though don't you think?" she asks, Fitz nods. The two scientist stare at their friends for a moment longer before deciding to go and test Skye's blood in the lab. Wanting to figure out what this GH drug is and what effects it could have on Skye.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Skye is the first to wake up, she looks around in confusion before realizing that she in the med bay. Skye smiles when she sees Kaitlynn asleep, not used to seeing her look so relaxed and unguarded. Skye moves her hand, gently scratches Kaitlynn scalp as she does. She grins when she hears Kaitlynn sigh in her sleep. Wondering what would happen if she pulled away, Skye stops her movements and pulls her hand out of Kaitlynn's hair. She watches in amusement as the blonde's lips form into a pout at the lack of contact. She watches as Kaitlynn's eyes slowly open and look at her.

"What time is it?" Kaitlynn groans as she buries herself into her arms, like a child hiding under the blankets not wanting to go to school.

"No idea." Skye says still looking at the blonde amused "But I'm guessing its sometime in the afternoon." Kaitlynn sighs as she turns her head and looks at Skye, raising an eyebrow when she sees the brunettes look. "What?"

"Nothing." Skye says her grin growing "Your cute when you just wake up." She slips, Kaitlynn raises her eyebrow even higher.

"Cute?" she says sitting up, Skye nods a blush coloring her face.

"Yeah…I'd even go as far as calling it adorable." Skye says, silently cursing at herself for telling the blonde all of this. Blaming the pain killers for why she can't seem to stop embarrassing herself.

"I'm not adorable." Kaitlynn says as she crosses her arms over her chest, her lower lip sticking out slightly. Skye's grin turns into a full out smile seeing the badass blonde's lip sticking out in a pout.

"Yeah sure. Whatever you say." Skye says, Kaitlynn huffs

"I am not cute. Or adorable. I'm a badass." She mumbles under her breath, Skye chuckles having heard it.

"I'm sure you are." She says making Kaitlyn give her a mock glare. Kaitlynn sighs as she runs her hand through her hair.

"I'm going to take a shower. I'll come see you later?" Kaitlynn says knowing Simmons will come in and check on her soon. Skye nods, Kaitlynn gives her a small smile before standing up and walking out of the room passing Simmons on her way out.

"Skye. Good your awake." Simmons says smiling, happy to see her friend up and talking.

"Yup…pretty good for a girl whose been shot twice right?" she asks Simmons looks at her unamused. "Too soon?"

"Just a little" Simmons says as she checks over Skye's vitals

"What do you think of Kaitlynn?" Skye asks

"Kaitlyn?" Jemma says making sure she heard right, at Skye's nod she continues "I think…she's smart, brave, a living legend and…it also helps that she very attractive." Simmons says before clearing her throat, trying to hide her blush. Skye looks at her both amused and surprised at the last part "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering what you thought about her" Skye says with a shrug, seeing that Skye wasn't going to tell her anymore Simmons decides to keep talking.

"You know she figured out where the GH drug was." Simmons says

"She did?" Skye asks surprised, Jemma nods smiling when she sees she's peaked Skye's interest.

"Yes it seems she really does live up to the legend." Simmons says "We were looking through some files for when Dr. Streiten's departure from the Triskeltion was, around the dates from when he operated on Coulson, we came across a file about the guest house where Kaitlyn figured out that, that was what GH stood for. When we tried to access the file access history, but couldn't open it. We all thought it was encrypted…" Simmons tells her

"What was it?" Skye asks curiously

"Kaitlyn figured out that it was a map of the bunker where the drug was being held." Simmons says with a small smile "I can see why Agent Weaver wanted to recruit her into the academy, she really is quite brilliant. And she definitely lives up to the stories I've heard about her."

"What stories?" Skye asks curiously, Jemma looks at her confused before remembering that she doesn't know since Skye never went to the academy.

"Well you know they'd called her Angel" Jemma says as she begins to draw some blood, Skye nods

"Yeah…I've heard Ward call her it once. What's up with that anyway?"

"Well the story goes that a group of agents, about 10 or so, went insane. No one knows why but they took over 20 hostages at gunpoint and strapped bombs to them." Jemma says "Kaitlynn snuck through the ventilation shaft and disarmed the hostile agents, its said that she got shot five times but she never went down. She managed to save all 20 hostages and disarm the bombs, saving both the hostages and the Academy."

"Wow" Skye says impressed

"Yes…so they named her Angel because they saw her as the guardian angel of S.H.I.E.L.D" Jemma finishes

"I had no idea." Skye says in awe, Jemma nods as she finishes drawing Skye's blood.

"Yes well…try and get some rest." She says "I'll come in and check on you in a while" Jemma gives her friend a small smile before walking out.

Skye sighs as she lays back in her bed, thinking about what Jemma told her. She decides to ask Ward or Coulson to see if the story is true or not, having learned her lesson from last time when she heard May's story from the two scientists. Her mind wanders to thoughts of Kaitlynn as she falls asleep, wondering if the story is actually true or not.

 **_A/N_**

 **PLEASE REVIEW! I want to know what you guys think of the story so far! Thank you**


	11. Chapter 11

The next few days were a routine, every morning Kaitlynn would go and sit with Skye to keep her company. They would talk, exchange stories while eating breakfast. After Breakfast Simmons would come in and take more blood from Skye before leaving. Then Skye would sleep, which is when Kaitlyn would leave to workout and shower before coming back around noon. Skye and Kaitlyn eat lunch together while the other members of the team would either join them or just come in to talk.

After lunch Simmons draws more blood, Skye and Kaitlynn play cards to pass the time, Skye sleeps till dinner. Kaitlynn stays with her while she sleeps only leaving if either May, Coulson or Simmons need her. When Skye wakes up, if Kaitlynn is not there, she tires to get out of bed but is stopped by Simmons who then draws more blood. Later, Kaitlynn and Skye eat dinner and talk some more, making wise cracks at each other before Kaitlynn leaves for the night.

The next two days are like this, all routine. Except for today, Kaitlynn leaves right after breakfast saying something about having to talk to Coulson about something, Leaving Skye alone and bored. Skye sighs bored out of her mind, looking around the room, she sees that Simmons isn't around anywhere. She carefully sits up and twists her body so her feet are on the side of the bed. She winces in pain as her feet touch the ground, just as her butt leaves the mattress Simmons is at the window knocking on it.

"No." She scolds through the glass "What did I say?"

"Damn it. Every time." Skye curses under her breathe, she turns when Simmons walks into the room "Its like you have a sensor for whenever my butt lifts off the bed."

"Back in it." Simmons says unamused

"I just want to stretch my legs." Skye whines

"Now." Simmons orders like a mother telling their kid to go to their room.

"Look!" Skye says as she taps her face "There's color in my cheeks." She says, Simmons just nods and helps her sit back in the bed "Breathing without…feeling like my whole body's on fire." She says her voice strained "I'm good."

"Good is not the appropriate word to describe your state." Simmons says as she helps Skye with the covers. "You've been shot twice, had your stomach perforated, and a breathing tube shoved down your throat. Better is the more accurate word." She says as she starts to draw more blood.

"Again with the blood drive?" Skye asks "I'm not gonna have anything left." She says making Simmons chuckle "Not sure how I feel about Dr. Simmons. She's so strict. Ow and pokey" She says when Simmons removes the needle

"Well patient Skye is unruly and stubborn." Simmons says

"And grateful." Skye adds "I hope you know that."

"I didn't do it alone."

"Still I'm the most…grateful-est-est patient alive." Skye says with a chuckle

"That's not even a word." Simmons says, the two girls are interrupted when Ward knocks on the door.

"Hey." He says "This a bad time?" he asks, Skye winces as she sits up.

"It is if you're here to bust me out." She says before turning to look at Simmons "The warden has extended house arrest." She says in an English accent. Simmons scoffs

"Awful accent." She says as she walks out of the room, Skye groans as she rubs her hands over her face.

"I must look terrible!" she says "Simmons won't even bring me a mirror."

"I've seen worse" Ward says

"Wow. Thanks."

"No I mean you look better than when you were dying." He says making Skye chuckle

"Swinging and a missing Ward." She says

"So where's your sidekick?" Ward asks referring to Kaitlyn, Skye laughs

"If anything I'm her sidekick" She says "And Kaitlynn is with Coulson, said that he had to talk with her about something." Ward nods

"You two have been getting close lately…anything going on there?" Skye looks at him confused

"What? No. we're just friends" she says

"You sure?"

"Yeah Ward. I'm sure." Skye says, Ward nods his head as he looks at the brunette before letting out a sigh.

"Its great to see you…better" he says trying to change the subject. Skye nods as she thinks back to what happen at Quinn's mansion.

"It was so stupid to go in there alone." She says

"Hey. There's no point in doing that now." Ward says knowing she's blaming herself "You were brave. Thanks to you, every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the country knows Mike Peterson's alive."

"You tell them about his magic leg?"

"I didn't call it that, but yes." Ward says "Agent Garrett's running point on Mike. Thinks he's part of some project called Deathlok."

"He looked like death. You should have…" Skye says trailing off as she avoids looking at Ward "He wouldn't even look at me. They did something to him. He needs help."

"He's past help." Ward says "He was there with you, Skye. Could have protected you. He let this happen to you. And I'll never forgive that."

"Well I-I need to better protect myself, so…when Simmons gives the all clear, we'll start training?" Skye asks changing the subject.

"We'll ease you back into it."

"No." Skye says forcefully "I want to train harder. Next time, I don't want to depend on some miracle drug to save me." She says, Ward sighs as he nods his head. Knowing that once Skye gets something in her head its nearly impossible to talk her out of it.

* * *

_IN THE LAB_

"She's beginning to get suspicious of all the blood I'm taking." Simmons says as she walks into the lab

"No wonder." Fitz says "How many samples have you tested each day?"

"Not enough." She says "Not enough to find anything in her blood or Coulson's." Simmons says as she looks at the blood samples. She sighs as she picks up the empty GH container. "There isn't ample residue remaining in the vial to examine after we emptied into her bloodstream. Such a pity we only found the one."

"Sorry we didn't stick around to get blown to bits." Kaitlynn says as she walks into the lab "I'm taking it you guys haven't found anything?"

"No." Simmons says with a sigh "Its just the last sample of this miracle drug is inside Skye."

"You can't find any way to trace it?" Kaitlyn asks

"No. She's healing at an exponential rate, but I can't detect anything irregular on a cellular level."

"And you've explained to Coulson." Fitz says "That you need to upload the samples to H.Q.?"

"He shut me down, said to keep it in-house." Simmons scoffs "I mean this drug could be a phenomenal breakthrough, could save countless lives. Why is he being so twitchy?" she vents

"Coulson has his reasons." Kaitlynn says as she remembers back to what they saw down in the bunker, Simmons rolls her eyes before asking.

"Well you two were down in the bunker with him. Did you see anything peculiar?"

"Everything was peculiar." Fitz says before walking back to his area, Simmons looks at him questionably before turning to Kaitlynn. The blonde opens her mouth to speak but is cut off by the sound of her cell phone.

"New case. May wants us all upstairs for debrief." Kaitlynn reads before walking out of the lab, Fitz-Simmons behind her.

* * *

"New orders." May says once they're all in the room, with the exception of Skye. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s detecting massive energy readings in the skies above the California/Nevada border."

"Where's Agent Coulson?" Ward asks

"Taking personal time." May says

"That's a couple days straight." Ward says

"These are the same readings Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster picked up in New Mexico and in London." Simmons says stopping Ward and May from fighting. "They herald the arrival of an Asgardian."

"Thor." Fitz says in realization

"Not sure." May says "Either way, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to be the welcome wagon."

"Okay fine." Fitz says "No cause for concern right?" he says looking for reassurance "Asgardians are allies."

"Loki wasn't." Ward says before walking out, the team all looks at each other before splitting up. Preparing for whatever they might face when they reach New Mexico.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Kaitlynn, May, Ward and Fitz are all in an black S.H.I.E.L.D. issued SUV driving though the Nevada dessert, with four other S.H.I.E.L.D. issued cars behind them. Simmons having stayed back on the B.U.S. with Skye, Kaitlyn wishes she could of stayed with the brunette hacker but knows that they need her more on this mission.

"Fitz?" Ward asks from where he's sitting in the front passenger seat next to May.

"Yeah, we're definitely getting close, but it's a bit of a crap shot." He says as he looks down at the tablet in his lab where they are tracking the energy readings. "This is still science we don't completely understand."

"Seems to be a lot of that going around lately." Ward says "So Coulson hasn't talked to you about why he changed his mind about giving Skye that injection?" he asks May

"No." May says "He's keeping it to himself." She says looking though the rearview mirror, her eyes meeting Kaitlynn's.

"What about you Kaitlyn?" Ward asks turning in his seat so he can look at the blonde "Why did you change your mind?" Kaitlynn opens her mouth ready to speak but is cut off when the tablet beeps.

"I'm getting a massive energy surge. Three times the level of the one before." Fitz says, Kaitlynn looks at the tablet her eyes widening in realization.

"How close?" Mays asks

"Stop the car!" Kaitlynn yells seeing that the surge is practically on top of them. May slams on the breaks just in time as a beam of energy shoots in front of them. They all step out of their cars, when the dust clears to reveal a woman in armor.

"Definitely Asgardian." Kaitlynn sighs when she sees the woman, the agents who were following them all draw their weapons.

"Running facial recognition." Fitz says as he types some things into his tablet. "Okay got it." He says after a moment "I don't have a name, but I can confirm she was in New Mexico, fighting with Thor and his mates. She's on our side."

Seeing the logo on the side of the SUV the woman starts walking towards them.

"Stands down she's a friendly" May orders to the other agents, as she goes to meet the woman.

"You are of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she asks

"Yeah." Ward says unsure

"I am Lady Sif of Asgard." She says "Your world is in grave danger."

"What's happening?" Kaitlyn asks

"I need your help. A prisoner has escaped Asgard and is here. I need your help in locating her."

"Lets talk about this somewhere more privately. Shall we?" May says motioning to the SUV, Sif nods before following her into the car and heading back to the B.U.S.

Sif looks around the plane as she steps out of the vehicle, she follows Fitz, Kaitlynn and Ward into the lab not seeing May and Coulson talking from above.

"She's a warrior." Coulson says "I saw her fight in New Mexico with Thor climbed a giant metal killing machine, speared it with her double-bladed sword." He says with a small smile "It was pretty badass."

"She says she needs S.H.I.E.L.D. to help her find someone." May says "You up for this?"

"I'm fine."

"Fine doesn't look like this." May says as he tries to walk away "Not on you. You've been gone more often than not." She says as she walks closer to him "Whatever's bothering you…I'm here."

"I know." Coulson says with a slight nod before walking away. Sif looks away from the monitors as she gets ready to unsheathe her sword when she sees Coulson.

"What dark magic is this?" Sif asks "Thor sais you perished at the hand of Loki."

"And her was right…for awhile anyway." Coulson says "But Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few of their own."

"Thor will be pleased to hear it." She says "He considers you a friend."

"I feel the same, which is why I'd prefer he hear it from me, if that's okay." Coulson says, Sif nods "I understand you're looking for someone."

"I am hunting her. Lorelei." Sif says "600 years ago, she used her powers to wreak havoc across the nine realms, to command armies, bring down kings, empires."

"What kind of powers we talking about?" Kaitlynn asks from her place besides May

"Strength? Speed?" Ward asks, Sif shakes her head

"Sorcery." Sif says "She bend and shapes the will of men to her own purpose."

"Only men?" May asks "Her powers don't work on women?"

"No. Men have inherent weakness we do not share." Sif says, Kaitlynn and May look at each other with a smirk.

"I can't imagine what she's talking about." Fitz mumbles, Ward shakes his head not knowing either.

"The very sound of her voice can ensnare most." Sif says explaining Lorelei's powers "For the rare man who can resist, its her voice joined by her touch that will overpower his will."

"So how do we stop her?" Coulson asks

"With this." Sif says as she removes a gold necklace from her belt and sets it on the table "It prevents her from speaking. She wore one like it for centuries while locked in prison. She escaped when the dark elves invaded Asgard and came here using one of Loki's secret pathways between worlds."

"Do we know where she is now?" Ward asks

"All I know is the bifrost delivered me to her last known location." She says

"Mostly small towns out that way." Coulson says "Lets start looking for unusual activity within a few hundred-mile radius burglary, theft, assault. If this woman's used to pulling over empires…she's gonna be hard to please." He says, they all nod before splitting up to do as Coulson says.

Kaitlynn rubs her eyes as she looks at her computer, she sighs before standing up and closing her laptop and walking out of the lab towards Skye's room.

"Hey." She says knocking on the door, Skye looks up at her with a small smile

"Hey…haven't seen much of you today" She says "Thought you forgot about me."

 _Never_. Kaitlynn thinks to herself as she sits down in the chair she usually sits in. "Yeah sorry about that, I had to talk to Coulson earlier than we got called on this mission…"

"…Yeah I heard." Skye says "One of Thor's friends showed up looking for some chick who can bend men's will." She says, Kaitlynn smiles slightly

"Yeah. I figured that since I had time I should stop in and see how you were doing."

"Oh I'm great." Skye says sarcastically "I mean I might die of boredom in the net few hours but other then that I'm just fantastic." She huffs, Kaitlyn chuckles

"Well once your all healed up I guarantee that your life will not hold an ounce of boredom in it." She says with a small smile. The two girls stare at each other for a moment, Skye replaying the conversations she had with Ward in her head. Trying to decide if she really does have feelings for the blonde or not, she always thought she liked Ward. Maybe she was wrong.

"You okay?" Kaitlynn asks seeing the look on Skye's face

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine…." She says "I was just thinking…"

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kaitlynn says after a beat, Skye smiles slightly

"It was just something that Ward said earlier…." Skye says "Do you…Do you think Mike is past help?" she asks, chickening out from asking the question she really wanted to ask. Kaitlynn sighs as she leans back in her chair.

"I think he could have helped you and he didn't" She says

"I think they did something to him." Skye says "I mean you should have seen him…he looked horrible and- and…" Skye says already defending herself but stops when she hears Kaitlynn say.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

"What?" Skye asks surprised, having expected Kaitlynn to react the same way Ward did. Kaitlynn smiles slightly

"With the amount of technology these people have created…I wouldn't be surprised if they are some how controlling him." Kaitlynn says "They did with me.." she says quietly, Skye opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by the sound of Kaitlynn's pager going off. "I gotta go. Duty calls." She says, Skye nods her head in understanding.

"Got it." Skye says "I'll just stay here…" she says trailing off, Kaitlynn gives her a smile before walking out of the room to meet with Coulson and the others. Skye sighs as she watches her go thinking that she just might have feelings for the blonde after all.

"Traced the men to a biker bar called Rosie's desert Oasis." Ward says as he, May and Kaitlynn walk into the lab "Probably where Lorelei's hiding out. Meeting a S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy there in 10."

"Good." Fitz says "Then you can show off these beauties." He says motioning to the table filled with guns, Ward whistles

"These all Night-Night guns?" Kaitlynn asks

"Based on the same technology, but we're not calling them that anymore."

"About time." Ward says as he picks up a pistol

"So what's the new name?" Kaitlynn asks as she picks up one of the larger guns and tests out the scope.

"They're called Icers." Fitz says excitedly "Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting-"

"They're great." Ward interrupts before quickly bringing it up "And you lost the ounce." He says, Kaitlynn rolls her eyes as she sets the gun down.

"And I tripled the stopping power." Fitz says slapping Ward on the back like he did to him moments ago "But I did realize after our run ins with Mike and Centipede…" he says as he picks up the gun Kaitlynn had before.

"Whoa." May says when the barrel is pointed at her, she slowly moves it away from her

"Sorry." He says "…um that we needed something stronger, better." As he hands it to Ward.

"Thought you didn't like guns" Ward says when he sees her pick up a pistol

"No I always say If I need a gun-"

"Ill take one" Kaitlyn says with her, smiling innocently as her S.O. when May glares at her. May rolls her eyes before continuing

"We'll need these." She says "When you're up against people who are being controlled, sometimes its hard to distinguish friend from foe." She says, Kaitlynn and May glance at each other knowing that she's talking about what happened in Bahrian.

"This way, we can take out either." Coulson says from his place at the door to the lab

"Where's Lady Sif?" Kaitlyn asks, they all turn when they hear a bang to see Sif standing behind Coulson having jumped from above instead of taking the stairs.

"Shall we?" She asks, Kaitlynn smirks as she grabs a pistol and sheaths it to her side before grabbing a bigger gun and following the rest of the team to the cars so they can get Lorelai.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Coulson and his team along with a few other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents pull up to the bar where they think Lorelei may be.

"Lorelei's tastes run toward palaces, castles." Sif says as she looks at the bar and unsheathes her sword "This is far more humble than her usual abode."

"The draw wasn't the place. It was the man power." Ward says

"How many men does she have in there?" Coulson asks the two police officers who are standing out front "Have you seen the suspect?"

"Yes we have." The older cop says "And she's beautiful." He says before raising his shot gun up and firing at them. As soon as the police officers raise their guns, they all duck in cover.

"Their on us from both sides." Ward says as he exchanges gun fire "Be hard to get off a clean shot." Kaitlynn lays on her side and fires at one of the officers hitting him in the chest with an Icer.

"There's one." Kaitlynn says as she reloads "I can't get the other."

"Your Ladyship" Coulson says to Sif whose covering behind her shield "Can you give us a little cover?" Sif nods before walking over to a van and pushing it so its blocking S.H.I.E.L.D. from the officer's gun fire.

"Very literal interpretation." Coulson says as he stands up making Kaitlyn chuckle. "Thank you." He calls to Sif before shooting the other officer who was about to shoot him.

"All clear." Ward says after shooting two bikers who were sneaking up on them.

"Men stay outside. Let Sif take Lorelei." Coulson orders, hearing the order Sif is already running into the bar. "Ward, Kaitlynn head around back. Surround the building." The two agents nod before running around the building.

"Seems like Sif is handling herself." Kaitlynn says hearing the sound of fighting, Ward nods

"So…you and Skye…" he says, Kaitlynn gives him a confused look

"What about me and Skye?"

"Nothing. Its just you two have been getting pretty close is all…"

"There's nothing going on between us if that's what your implying." Kaitlynn says as she looks around for any hostiles "We're just friends."

"Good to know." Ward says

"Why are you so interested in me and Skye? I thought you were in to May."

"Its just sex. Between us." Ward says "And I'm not interested in Skye I'm just asking for the sake of the team."

"Yeah and I'm the queen of England" Kaitlynn says under her breath, she hears Ward groan and barely has time to dodge a wrench coming down at her head, dropping her gun in the process.

"Look I'm sure you're uh a reasonable guy…" Kaitlynn says as she holds her hands up, she glances down to where Ward is laying unconscious. She dodges when the man swings at her and punches him in the face. "Rooster…" Kaitlynn says reading the patch on his vest "Rooster? Really?" she says confused

The man swings at her again but Kaitlynn manages to dodge and upper cuts him in the jaw, rendering him unconscious.

"uh…nice work" Ward says, wincing as he sits up.

"Yeah…you okay?" Kaitlynn asks as she helps him up, Ward nods as they both pick up their dropped weapons. They both turn around, weapons raised to see Lorelei standing there.

"Your both warriors are you not?" She asks not at all phased by the weapons they have pointed in her direction.

"We are. So put your hands behind your back and get on your knees." Ward says

"Men kneel before me." Lorelei says as she walks closer to them

"Guess it's a good think I'm not a man then. I bow to no one." Kaitlynn says as she steps closer not wanting her to touch Ward.

"Gonna need some back up over here." Ward says into his comm, Lorelei hits Kaitlyn sending her flying into the building. Before Ward can react Lorelei closes the remaining space between them and places her hand on Ward's arm.

"That is not what you need. " She says placing Ward under her spell. They look over when they hear Kaitlynn groan.

"Ward…" she says, Ward raises his Icer and fires three shots into Katlynn making her fall unconscious. Ward then gets on Rooster's bike, with Lorelei on the back

"Take me somewhere grand, deserving of a ruler, a queen" Lorelei says, Grant smirks

"I know just the place." He says before driving off.

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

Back on the plane, the team moved a still unconscious Kaitlynn into Skye's room so Jemma can better monitor both girls easier. Coulson walks into Skye's room, after his talk with Sif, carrying the golden collar and explains to Skye and Jemma what happened to Kaitlynn.

"Ward shot her with an Icer. She's going to be out for a while." Coulson says

"What?" Skye asks confused and shocked

"He's under the control of an Asgardian named Lorelei… It kind of a long story." He says

"So Ward's what? like a pod person?" Skye asks

"No, according to Lady Sif, the men Lorelei controls don't forget who they are or what they know. She just becomes the embodiment of all their desires."

"So once we find them, we can break her mojo or whatever and get Ward back right?" Skye asks

"Yes once the collar's back on Lorelei's neck, the enchantment ends but that the problem. The collar caught a shotgun blast back in the desert." He says before handing it to Fitz "You think you can fix it?"

"Well…the metal, the weight, its similar to the Berserker staff." He says

"But it presents it own set of countless unknown variables." Simmons adds

"Got a couple hours." Coulson says, Fitz nods before standing up and walking out towards the lab.

"What can I do?" Skye asks hating just sitting in bed "And don't you dare say nothing or tell me to sit down here and count ceiling tiles while Ward is missing."

"Ward's got drop boxes and storage lockers all over the world. They're filled with currency, weapons, I.D.'s." Coulson says "He's gonna use aliases, cash, anything to keep Lorelei off the radar. You're the best radar we have. Find them." He says before walking out Simmons following him, Skye nods before typing into her laptop her eyes drifting up to look at Kaitlynn every few seconds.

* * *

"Sir may I have a moment?" Simmons asks as she catches up to Coulson "Its about the GH-325."

"Have you found something?"

"No. I've hit a wall because of my limited resources." She says "The drug's chemical properties are foreign to me, which is startling in its own right."

"We've been over this."

"So I'm requesting once again to send a sample of Skye's blood to H.Q. for further study."

"That's not an option."

"Why?" Simmons asks, stopping Coulson from walking away "I don't need to explain to you the benefits of this drug. You've experienced them first hand."

"No. That's an order." Coulson says before trying to walk away again only to be stopped…again.

"That's not good enough Reason!" Simmons says frustrated "I have a duty to you, Sir as my commanding officer. But I also have a duty as a S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist to pursue and save lives! Given Ward's recent situation we should-"

"Two men laid down their lives in a compound rigged with explosives to keep this drug hidden." Coulson says cutting off Simmons's rant "We still don't know why. Until we do, until we speak with Fury and get some answers, that drug and its mysteries stay in house. Focus on the mission. Kaitlynn is down, Lorelei has Ward, and we have no idea where she's taking him."

* * *

_TIME SKIP_

"Are you sure she's supposed to be out this long?" Skye asks as she looks at a still unconscious Kaitlynn

"She was hit three times with an Icer." Simmons says as she looks over Kaitlynn "She is bound to be out for a while but I suspect the effects are wearing off" she says after checking the blonde's eyes. They look down when they hear Skye's laptop start beeping.

"What is it? Have you found something?" Simmons asks as Skye begins typing

"I think so…" She says before smiling in triumph as she shows Simmons the security footage of Ward and Lorelei at a casino. "Got em. Call Coulosn." Simmons nods before walking out of the room to call him. Skye sighs as she looks at Kaitlynn, taking in every detail of the blonde's face. She's broken out of her thoughts when Simmons comes back in.

"Coulson, May and Sif have all left to get Ward." She says

"Good. Good." Skye says trying to hide her blush at being almost caught staring at the blonde agent. Simmons looks at her curiously and opens her mouth to question why the brunette is blushing but is interrupted by a low moan. They all turn towards Kaitlynn whose finally coming out from under the Icer's effects.

"What the hell happened?" She asks as she sits up in the chair, wincing as she does so.

"Ward shot you with an icer." Skye says

"Ward…yeah…Lorelei-"

"Has him. Yeah we know. Coulson just left with a team to catch them." Skye says, Katlynn nods as she begins to rub her temples.

"Damn those things have one hell of a kick." She says before looking up at the two girls across from them "How long was I out?"

"A few hours." Simmons says, Kaitlynn groans as she stands up from the chair and stretch, sighing when her back cracks.

"That Lorelei bitch can hit." Kaitlyn says as she rubs the back of her head, they all look up when Fitz walks into the room.

"Coulson wants us to check the video feeds from around the area for Ward and Lorelei." He says before seeing Kaitlyn "Oh your awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck." She deadpans, Fitz stares at her for a moment before nodding his head and walking out. Kaitlynn chuckles before walking over to where Skye and Jemma are "So where should we start." Kaitlynn asks as she walks over to the bed, wanting to find Ward and the Asgardian bitch already. Skye gives her a small smile before explaining to the blonde what she plans to do.

* * *

_TIME SKIP: _

A few minutes later they stop their search when they feel the plane shake, they look around in confusion.

"We're taking off. Why are we taking off?" Kaitlynn asks

"What is that pounding?" Skye asks

"I'll go and investigate." Simmons says, "You-"

"Stay put I know." Skye says tiredly, having heard it all before making Kaitlynn chuckle. Simmons goes to the door and tries to open it, but cant.

"Someone locked us in." Simmons says

"What?" Kaitlynn asks as she walks over and tries the door but finds that she can't "Shit." She curses.

"What's going on?" Skye asks

"I think Ward and Lorelei took the plane…" Kaitlynn sighs "The only one who was on the plane with us was Fitz. She must have gotten control over him and he locked us in here." She explains as she tries to think of a plan "Okay. Okay here's what we're going to do…Simmons stand in the corner, the next person that comes in here hit them as hard as you can with the fire extinguisher." The blonde says as she hands her the extinguisher "When you hit them it'll distract them long enough for me to de-capacitate them."

"What about me?" Skye asks

"Try and reach Coulson and May. If they're not on the plane already then they need to know what's going on." She says, the other two girls nod before doing as their told.

* * *

A few minutes later Coulson walks into the room.

"Where's Simmons?" He asks, barely having time to catch the extinguisher that Simmons was going to hit him with. Kaitlynn freezes in her attack when she hears him speak "What the hell are you doing?"

"Sir are you…you?" Simmons asks

"Of course I am!" Coulson says "Fitz has Sif trapped in the cage. We need to unlock the door, get her out." Skye, Kaitlyn and Simmons all look at each other "What?" Coulson asks seeing the look.

"They opened the airlock. She's gone." Kaitlynn says

"I'm afraid she was sucked out of the aircraft." Simmons says as Coulson looks at what Skye is showing him on her laptop.

"Are you kidding? She's Asgardian. Sif's still out there. Unlock it. Let her in." Coulson says like its obvious before looking at Simmons "You, come with me. I need your help. Kaitlynn, stay with Skye." He orders before Simmons and Coulson walk out.

"She in." Skye says, Kaitlynn tears her eyes away from the door and walks over to the hacker, sitting on the bed as they both watch the security footage from the cell on the laptop screen.

"Damn I wish I had some popcorn." Kaitlynn sighs as they watch Sif close the door, locking her and Lorelei inside. "Fitz can't open that right?" Kaitlynn asks not wanting him to get hurt in the crossfire of the fight.

"Yup. I override everything." She says happily as they both watch as Sif and Lorelei talk before Lorelei makes the sword into a double blade. They watch as Sif blocks the blade with her metal gauntlets and takes the other half of the sword breaking it.

"Damn." Skye and Kaitlynn say in awe, Sif looks at her half of the sword then back at Lorelei pissed. They watch in suspense as the two Asgardian woman trade blows, Sif elbowing Lorelei in the face before the red head backs Sif into a corner. Sif pushes Lorelei off her and over the table before they are back to trading blows again.

Sif takes Lorelei's sword and elbows her again before kicking her into the wall, she points her sword at the red head's chest only to have it knocked away. Lorelei goes to punch the brunette but Sif skillfully flips her over onto the ground, pointing her sword at her once again. Daring her to move.

"Whoa." Both girls say in amazement, they watch the two Asguardian's speak to one another. Unable to hear what they're saying, they watch as whatever Lorelei is saying effect Sif before she finally has enough and puts the collar on her.

* * *

_TIME SKIP: _

Kaitlynn sighs as she walks into the kitchen later that night, trying to find something to eat. The plane strangely quiet, with Coulson and May seeing SIf off, Simmons and Fitz down in the lab and Ward who knows where.

"Yes…" Kaitlynn says in relief as she finds the ingredients needed to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Hey…" Ward says as he walks into the room, Kaitlynn looks up from what she's doing when she hears him. She glances at him before returning to finishing making her sandwich, then making one for Skye. "So…um…I wanted to apologize…" Ward says awkwardly "For earlier…" he says, Kaitlyn nods as she finishes making Skye's sandwich and begins to put the ingredients away. "…for you know shooting you…." He says when Kaitlynn doesn't say anything, the blonde nods her head.

"Its fine." She says as she puts both sandwiches on a plate and begins to walk away

"Really?" Ward says surprised

"Really." Kaitlyn says before stopping "Just one thing…" she says, before turning around and punching him in jaw so hard that he has to catch himself on the counter to keep from falling over "If you ever shoot me again…I will make it my life's mission to make your life hell." She says before turning on her heel and walking away.

Ward sighs as he stands up straight, rubbing his jaw. He turns and looks where Kaitlynn once was and nods "Definitely May's prodigy" he mumbles before walking to the cockpit where he knows he has more apologizing to do.

Kaitlynn walks into the the medical ward, completely unaware of what's going on.

"What?" Kaitlyn asks seeing Skye's shocked look and a worried Coulson before putting the pieces together "You told her?" she states more then asks as she sets the sandwiches down, Coulson nods.

"You knew about the…Alien." Skye says still in shock, Kaitlynn nods with a sigh

"I was with him when he found it." She says "The minute we learned what it was, we tried to keep them from injecting you with it, but we were too late."

"I'm so sorry, Skye." Coulson says

"You were trying to save my life. Both of you." She says "You _did_ save my life."

"I was desperate to, and so I subjected you to unknown ramifications or side effects." Coulson says

"I'm sorry to say this, sir, But…So what?" Skye says earning shocked looks from both Coulson and Kaitlynn "We are alive. And you've had that stuff in you for…uh some time now, and you're okay right? Plus, you're not sprouting a pointy tail or anything, so bonus there." Kaitlynn bites back a smile as she feels her heart swell, loving how Skye is always seeing the positive side of any situation and how it never seizes to amaze her.

"I know nothing fazes you, but this should faze you." Coulson says frustrated at the lack of response. "We are completely in the dark on this."

"That's where we live. I'm an 084. Who knows what the hell that means? At least we're in the dark together." Skye says as she looks at Kaitlynn who doesn't even try to hold back a smile.

"Yes. But not for long." Coulson says "To hell with any protocols or any code I used to be bound by. We have a long list of questions we need answers for, and we're going after them ourselves."

"Well if the teams up for it-" Skye says but is cut off by Coulson

"No. No, listen to me. I trust them, but we need to protect them from this." Coulson says "Fury went to dangerous lengths to keep this under wraps lied to me, lied to S.H.I.E.L.D. this is a powerful secret, a secret men died for. Until we know why, we can't share this with anyone, for their safety and ours."

"Got it." Skye says with a nod, understanding how big this is.

"So what'll it be Coulson?" Kaitlynn asks "Who do we go after first?"

"The person responsible for this." Coulson says looking at both girls "And we make him pay."

After talking some more about what they plan to do, Coulson finally leaves, leaving Skye and Kaitlynn alone.

"Soooo…how do you feel?" Kaitlynn asks as she holds out the plate of sandwich's she made out to Skye, motioning for her to take one.

"Like my whole world just got turned up side down." Skye says as she takes a sandwich and takes a small bite out of it. Kaitlyn nods in understanding and takes the other.

"Yeah….I'm sorry." Kaitlynn says "I wasn't fast enough to stop them from injecting you with the GH."

"Hey I meant what I said earlier." Skye says "You guys saved my life. Sure we don't know what the hell that stuff was but how bad can it be? I mean Coulson's fine right? And he's been on that stuff for a while. I'm sure if there was anything actually wrong with it then he would have been sprouting horns or something by now." Kaitlynn nods her head

"Yeah. I guess." She says trying to ignore that bad feeling she feels in the pit of her stomach.

"Good." Skye says with a smile before she pulls up her laptop "So…you want to watch a movie on Netflix?"

"Sure. What'dya got?" Kaitlynn asks as she leans closer to look at Skye's list. Skye smiles at the blonde before showing her her choices. A little wile later they finally settle on a Disney movie, the girls relaxing for the night as they finish their sandwiches. Both unaware of the bug planted in the vent, where May has been listening to everything they have said about the T.A.H.I.T.I. project.


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Kaitlynn asks from where she's standing next to Coulson on the cargo deck.

"It has too." He says as they watch Agent Garrett, Triplett, Hand, Sitwell and Blake all enter the plane.

"You realize Agent Coulson, they have these things called teleconferences now." Hand says once they are close enough.

"Nice to see you too, Agent Hand. Thank you all for coming on such short notice." Coulson says "You all remember Agent Robinson."

"Yes. The legend that came back from the dead." Hand says as she looks the blonde over "Nice to see you alive." She says

"A little unconventional meeting this way, isn't it?" Sitwell says

"Oh from the repots I've read, 'Unconventional' seems to be Coulson's middle name these days" Blake says

"Fight breaks out, let me take Blake." Garrett says "He's coy but scrappy." He says making Blake chuckle.

"I'll explain everything as soon as we hit 50,000 feet." Coulson says "This way." He says as he and Kaitlynn walk away, leading the agents further into the plane.

"Cruising altitude reached, bearing 90 degrees just over the north pole." May says joining the group of agents.

"Thank you." Coulson says

"Apologies for the song and dance, but we brought you here as a precaution." Garrett says

"A precaution against what?" Sitwell asks

"The Clairvoyant." Coulson says "If there is someone out there who can read minds, at least up here we're as far away from him as possible."

"Figured maybe the northern lights will knock a few bars off his psychic Wi-Fi." Garrett adds

"Coulson you know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stance on Psychics." Blake says "The don't exist."

"Are you suddenly a believer?" Hand asks

"Not definitively." Coulson says "But I had a recent experience with an Asgardian, who can control people's will with her voice. Forced me to open my mind, so to speak."

"All we know for sure is that the Clairvoyant's been a step ahead of us, stealing plays from our playbook." Garrett says

"And its pissing me off." Coulson says "I take it you've all read Agent Garrett's latest report."

"The hit on the safe house." Sitwell says "Mr. Peterson's alive and kicking."

"We call him Deathlok." May says

"It was the projects code name." Kaitlynn informs

"Agent Garrett and I have been tracking him the last few weeks." Trip states

"And we think the Clairvoyant's super-soldier bodyguard came after us for a reason." Garrett says "We're getting close."

"To what? His identity?" Hand asks, Garrett and Coulson look at each other before Garrett says

"We've narrowed the list to 13 candidates."

"Narrowed it how? From what?" Blake asks

"Agent Garrett has been taking a second look at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gifted index, specifically the rejects." Coulson says

"Individuals S.H.I.E.L.D. interviewed who are believed to have psychic abilities but were ultimately dismissed." Garrett says

"So you think we've encountered the Clairvoyant before." Sitwell states

"Think of how many cases we've encountered across the globe" Coulson says "How many we vetted. Its more than possible. Its probable."

"I need more coffee." Blake says tiredly

"Lets assume what you're saying is possible." Hand says ignoring Blake "What then? If we're going up against an actual Clairvoyant, how do you suggest we combat that?"

"By compartmentalizing the information." Kaitlynn says

"A member of my team is an expert at pattern recognition and analysis, finding needles in haystacks." Coulson explains "She'll prioritize the candidates on Garrett's list, locate them, then pair us off into random teams."

"That way only one person knows the full scope of the mission." Garrett says

"You do understand that this person you're referring to she'd need to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to be granted that level of access." Hands says

"I'm glad you brought that up." Coulson says before looking at Kaitlynn and telling her to bring Skye up. Kaitlynn nods before going down to the lab where Skye is with Fitz-Simmons getting more blood drawn.

"Skye Upstairs. Top brass wants to see you." Kaitlynn says making it sound like she's going to be in trouble. Skye looks at the two scientist worriedly before following the blonde.

"What's going on?" Skye asks as she walks upstairs

"They just want to go over the mission." Kaitlynn says trying to hide the small smile that wants to come out, Skye nods her head not seeing the blonde's struggle.

"Pairing off makes total sense." Skye says once she's with everyone "Just one thought though, what if we make it a double-blind?" Skye asks

"How so?" Hand asks

"Well I'll give one person from each team the potential Clairvoyant's coordinates, and I'll give the other one the identity." The hacker explains "That way, no one person knows the full specs of the OP until you get there." She says, Coulson smiles at her proudly.

"I like how you think." Garrett says before looking at everyone else "I like how she thinks."

"One question how am I supposed to access all the classified files without someone in the room?" Skye asks "I don't have clearance."

"Now you do." Coulson says before taking out a badge "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. Skye." He says as he hands her the badge, Skye looks at him in shock making them all smile. Skye turns and looks to see May walking towards her with Fitz-Simmons following behind her, all of them smiling proudly.

"I-I…I don't know what to say." Skye says as she looks down at her badge before looking at Coulson "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." Coulson says "You've passed every required S.H.I.E.L.D. exam with flying colors. "

"For a level 1 agent." Hand adds, Kaitlynn turns and glares at the red head for trying to ruin Skye's moment.

"You've assisted us on multiple field missions, put your life on the line." Coulson says ignoring Hand "You earned this."

"Hell you took two in the gut." Garrett says "More than Sitwell here's ever done."

"Okay everyone back to work." Coulson says, everyone nods before walking away except for Fitz, Simmons, Ward and Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn and Ward watch as Fitz and Simmons say their congratulations before walking off. Sensing that Ward and Skye want to talk, Kaitlynn hugs Skye and whispers her congrats before saying she'll be in the kitchen leaving them alone.

"Couldn't have done it without a great and very patient S.O." Skye says

"Yeah you could have." Ward says "I'm no Clairvoyant, but I do believe some things are meant to be." He says before walking away. Skye sighs happily as she looks down at her badge before going over to where Kaitlynn is.

"So how do you feel Agent Skye?" Kaitlynn asks teasingly as she finishes making herself a sandwich.

"Good. Actually…I never thought I'd ever get here." She says with a small smile

"Naah…you were always meant to be here Skye." Kaitlynn says as she gives the brunette her sandwich "You should eat." Kaitlynn says as she begins to make another for herself, Skye smiles at the blonde.

"Are you nervous?" Skye asks, Kaitlyn looks up and gives the brunette a questioning look "About the mission?" she clarifies

"No not really…" Kaitlynn says as she finishes making her sandwich

"How?" Skye asks, the blonde looks up to see the other girl's nervousness all over her face. She gives the brunette a small smile.

"Because I know you got my back…and so does the rest of the team." Kaitlynn says "And we all got yours." She says, seeing that did nothing to calm the girl she continues "Your going to do great. You always do…its just another mission."

"But I can't help feeling that I'm going to be leading one of you guys into a death trap." Skye says

"You're not. And even if something does happen, then we'll handle it. Like we always do." Kaitlynn says, Skye nods her head and gives the blonde a small smile. Kaitlynn returns the smile before changing the subject, the girls falling into an easy conversation trying to ignore what's going to happen in the next few hours.

"So you still nervous?" Kaitlynn asks as Skye assigns her, her partner

"Not as much as I was before." Skye says with a small smile, making the blonde smile.

"Good…so who'd you pair me up with?"

"Well…. there are an uneven number of people so I had to pair you with two other people."

"Its not someone annoying is it?" Kaitlynn asks hopefully making Skye let out a mischievous smirk.

* * *

_TIME SKIP _

"…used up my whole mag, and hit the final guy right in the chest with a flare gun." Garrett says from the passenger seat, as he retells a story from one of his missions. Kaitlynn rolls her eyes at the man from the back having already heard this story a couple time from him a few years prior to her kidnapping. Coulson smirks from the driver's seat. "Boy, you should have seen the look on his face when that thing went off."

"What?" Garrett asks seeing Coulson's face "I already told you that one?"

"I was there." Coulson says

"For which part?"

"The whole thing." Coulson says as if it was obvious making Kaitlyn chuckle.

"Really? Damn I must be getting old." Garrett says "Either that or I drank a whole lot more in my 30s than I remember."

"Or both. And you didn't go through the skylight."

"I know but it makes for a better story." Garrett says, Kaitlynn looks down when she hears the Sat phone beeping.

"File came in." She says as she reads it "Noriko Sato, 19, Junior at Ball State." She says as she hands it to Garrett to look at.

"The Co-Ed—I remember. She's got an I.Q. over 200." He says "Ran circles around every agent we sent in to interrogate her. We had no indication she was gifted. Family's got ties to the Yakuza, though."

"Heads up." Kaitlynn says when she sees construction ahead

"Detour." Garrett says

"Imagine that." Coulson adds as they take the detour

As they take the detour onto another route they are stopped by a construction truck pulling out, blocking the route.

"Oh. Convenient timing." Coulson says as he stops the car

"Think this'll make a good story someday?" Garett asks as he pulls out his gun.

"Probably." Kaitlynn says as she does the same when Coulson points out another car pulling in behind them.

"All backup teams—move in. We have an Agent down. Repeat. Agent Blake is down." Hand says through the radio. As soon as the message finishes, Coulson throws the car in reverse and swerves around the car behind them until they are back on the road and driving to May and Blake's location.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry its been so long since i've last updated I've been having trouble with my computer lately and haven't been able to download files into the Doc manager.**

Back at the HUB medics carry a barely stable Blake out of the plane.

"Lucky the Med Team got to him when they did." Ward says as he and May watch them carry him out.

"I wouldn't call anyone in critical condition lucky." May says "Deathlok's more dangerous than we thought." She says to Hand, Coulson, Garrett and Kaitlynn "Blake fired six shots didn't even faze him."

"Any word on Thomas Nash?" Garrett asks about the man they were supposed to find at the retirement home.

"No, He's a ghost." She says "The facility has him listed as a resident, but its all a cover up."

"Nash is probably off fishing in Bora Bora right now, laughing at us." Garrett says

"And yet Mr. Peterson was waiting for you and Blake at the facility. Why?" Coulson asks

"Probably the same reason he came after Garrett—we're getting too close." Ward says "He's trying to take us out."

"This shouldn't have happened." Hand says "Backup should have been there alongside Agents Blake and May."

"Clairvoyant would have seen us coming." Garrett says

"It appears he did anyway." Hand says "The plan was flawed from the start."

"Come on, Vic. The plan was solid." Garrett says

"We have an Agent down because we weren't prepared." Hand says

"Blake knew the risks." Garrett argues

"And don't call me 'Vic' Its condescending." She scolds

"Any one of us could have been ambushed." Garrett says

"The point it Blake's alive, and we have a suspect. Thomas Nash." Coulson says, ending their bickering.

"I'm headed inside to prep the field teams." Hand says dismissing everyone "Agent Coulson, when can I expect Agent Simmons for debrief?"

"She's getting ready as we speak." Coulson says

"Good. If I'm gonna put any more Agents in danger, I want them to know exactly what Deathlok is and what he's capable of." She says before walking away.

* * *

Inside the jet, in the lab May, Skye, Coulson and Kaitlynn are going over what they know about Deathlok and his attack on Blake.

"According to index archives, Nash has been on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar for about six years." Skye says as she reads information from her tablet. "Originally a bond trader in Canada doing very well for himself. Then the Canadian government recruited him to a secret department H-type program."

"They were looking for people with psychic abilities." May says

"Specifically people who could control human behavior, and Nash claimed he had a gift."

"Claimed?" May asks confused

"According to records, he couldn't affect a person's behavior. But he could, on occasion, predict it." Skye says

"But S.H.I.E.L.D. crossed him off the index after his accident because of his supposed catatonic state." Coulson informs from where he and Kaitlynn are going through Blake's things, looking for any clues that could lead them to the Clairvoyant.

"Which he recovered from quite nicely." Skye sasses making Kaitlynn smirk as she picks up Blake's gun to look it over.

"It was all a lie just to throw S.H.I.E.L.D. off his scent." Coulson says, looking at the pictures of Nash and the accident that are displayed on the screen.

"You said Blake fired how many rounds?" Kaitlynn asks her mentor as she looks down at both magazines from Blake's gun in confusion.

"I heard six. Why?" May asks

"Because there are only five missing from this magazine." She says holding up one as May and Coulson walk over to see what she's talking about, she continues when she picks up the second magazine "And one from here." She says as she looks up at her teammates "These are Fitz's tag rounds." She says in realization.

"We can track him." Skye says catching on

"Skye, check all the SAT feeds. Find that signal." Coulson orders

"On it." Skye says already looking through her tablet

"I'll get us up in the air." May says, she nods at Kaitlynn as if to say good job before walking out of the lab and to the cockpit.


	14. Chapter 14

_TIME SKIP: Pensacola, FL: _

At an abandoned race track in Pensacola Florida, Coulson and his team along with their back up pull in front of abandoned building where they tracked Deathlok's signal. The agents get out of their vehicles and look up at the building.

"I want this perimeter sealed. Two-Man teams on every exit." Coulson orders some of the men "Fitz, you got a signal?"

"94% sir, Deathlok must be inside somewhere." Fitz says as he looks down at his tablet

"Possible civilians inside?" May asks as she removes her aviator glasses.

"Doubtful. This race track's been shut down for months." Kaitlynn says, May nods before telling her team of pack up to move out.

"Skye run back end from the tactical van." Ward orders as he turns to another man behind him "You, I want you 6 feet from Skye at all times, weapons hot." He says

"Ward, its okay. I'm ready." Skye protests, Kaitlynn opens her mouth to agree with Ward but is cut off by Coulson.

"Ward's right. I feel bad enough you're already back in the field." Coulson says "I'm not taking any chances with your safety." Skye bites back her protests and starts to head back to the van but is stopped by Kaitlynn. The hacker looks at the blonde questionably, Kaitlynn gives her a small smile before pulling out a gun she had strapped to her ankle and handing it to her.

"Just in case." The blonde says, Skye smiles as she takes the gun "Stay safe."

"I'm not the one whose about to raid an abandoned race track." Skye points out making Kaitlynn smirk. "Be careful." She says

"Always am." The blonde says giving the brunette a wink before heading back to regroup with the others.

"This isn't a surprise party, people, so you can toss stealth out the window." Garrett says "Our target's wearing body armor and has enhanced cybernetics. Make your shots count. Let's move." He says before they all line up to go inside.

"You ringing the bell or knocking?" Ward asks his former mentor

"Knocking of course." Garrett says as if it was obvious.

Once they are close enough to the door a group of men rig the door with an explosive before running back to where its clear. A few seconds later the explosive goes off and Agents swarm the inside.

"Fitz, your up." Coulson says once the area is cleared. Fitz quickly walks over to Coulson and lays the case he was carrying down on an old crate, he quickly opens it up to reveal a device.

"Its time to hunt boys." Fitz says as he types a few things into his tablet, the device twirls around before spitting out eight glowing balls, one by one, like a cannon. "Lets find us a Deathlok."

"Impressive toy." Garrett says as he watches each of the eight balls take off in different directions.

"I prefer the term 'High-Tech Hardware.'" Fitz says as he looks at his tablet where he's tracking the balls.

"Skye you online?" Coulson asks through his comm

"Hold on." Skye says back followed by the sound of typing in the background "Northwest corridor is getting something. I'm pulling up a live feed." She says after a few seconds "I cant confirm its him. Initiating backscatter." She says before typing a few buttons, the hacker gasps when she sees what's been done to him. "What the hell did they do to him?"

"What are you seeing?" Coulson asks

"Its not just his leg or his eye. They did stuff to him. Its all under his skin." Skye says in disgust at what these people are capable of, she flinches when Deathlok smashes one of the balls. Cutting the feed.

"Uh, signal's dead. Retriever's down." Fitz says seeing one of the lights go out on the screen.

"He knows we're here." Kaitlynn says

"Fitz, get back to the van now." Coulson orders, Fitz quickly gathers up all of his things and heads back to the van where Skye is, while everyone spreads out to search for the Clairvoyant. May, Coulson, Ward and Kaitlynn all leading a team of men.

Ward and Kaitlynn lead their group up a flight of stairs while Coulson goes down.

"Contact! Take Cover!" Kaitlynn screams when she sees Deathlok about to shoot missiles at them, she jumps onto Ward pushing him out of the way just as the missiles fly. The missiles hit a beam, causing dust and debris to go everywhere. Ward gets up and fires a few shots at Deathlok only to have them have no effect when he walks away unharmed.

Ward looks at Kaitlynn from where she's getting up from the ground.

"You okay?" He asks, Kaitlynn nods as she reaches up and touches her head. Wincing when she feels a cut.

"Just Peachy." She says as she stands up

"Ward, Kaitlynn are you guys okay?" Skye says through the radio

"Uh, I got two men down. Kaitlynn's injured." Ward says "We need a med team."

"I'm fine." Kaitlynn says before Skye can say anything as she shoots a glare at Ward. "I'm going after Deathlok. Ward wait for the med team."

"Requesting one now." Skye says as she types "May, he's coming your way." She says before talking to the blonde agent "Kaitlynn you should wait for the med team." Skye advises

"I'm fine. Just a bump on the head." Kaitlynn says as she continues walking to meet May "Nothing bad." Skye sighs at the blonde's stubbornness. They hear May yell through the shared line that she has Deathlok only to lose him when he ducks into the Southwest stairwell. Coulson radios in that he's in pursuit.

"Same here." Kaitlynn radios as she goes down the stairwell.

"All teams. He's headed into the sub-basement." Coulson says "I do not have a visual." He says as he walks down the stairwell.

"Fitz you got a retriever down here?" Kaitlynn asks when she catches up with Coulson.

"On their way." Fitz says, Coulson and Kaitlynn look up when they see the retriever fly over their heads and down the hallway.

Coulson and Kaitlynn silently move through the hallway, their guns up and ready to fire at any second. Hearing something around the corner they slowly walk over only to stop when they see who it is.

"Easy." Garrett says making Coulson and Kaitlynn lower their weapons "I come in peace."

"How about a signal next time?" Coulson says, hearing a noise Kaitlynn whips around and opens fire at Deathlok making him run away. The three agents quickly follow.

Hearing metallic clanging they stop in front of a garbage shoots with their guns drawn

"Fitz you getting this?" Coulson asks

"Uh barely sir. It leads down into the sewer system." Fitz says being able to see with the retriever "That's under at least…40 feet of concrete? We'll be blind down there." He says before the retriever takes off in another direction.

"Where's that little guy going?" Garrett asks as they look after the glowing orb.

"Sir, there's someone else down there." Fitz says

"Copy that." Coulson says before leading them to where the glowing ball disappeared to.

They slowly walk over and stop in front of a doorway, Coulson nods giving them the signal for them to go ahead. The agents walk in there with their guns held high to see a room filled with monitors and a man sitting in a chair.

"What the hell?" Kaitlynn says in both shock and confusion when they see the man in the chair is actually Thomas Nash, who is catatonic and paralyzed.

"Agent Coulson, Agent Robinson, Agent Garrett, I surrender." A computerized voice says, the three agents stare at the man in shock as the rest of the team walks into the room. "Forgive me if we don't shake hands. I don't like to be touched." The voice says

"Sir we got a lot of wires back here." Ward says seeing where all the monitors are hooked up

"Don't touch anything." Coulson orders "We need this room swept for explosives."

"There are no traps here Agent Coulson." It says "You're here because we are destined to meet."

"You're the Clairvoyant?" Garrett asks

"I'm Thomas Nash." The voice says "Mr. Po gave me that other name. A bit dramatic for my taste."

"Eyes open, everybody." Coulson says "We don't know where Deathlok is or who else is down here."

"Mr. Peterson is gone." Nash says "I cut his feed, so you wont find him."

"But you had him lead us here. Why?" Coulson asks

"So I could see you with my own eyes instead of his." He says "Now I understand why I couldn't see you after you died. Because you, yourself could not see. You were simply a broken man who did not know he was broken."

"Your one to talk." Coulson says

"Lets pack this freak off to the fridge where he belongs." Garrett says

"Agent Garrett, look at me. Do you believe you can confine me anymore than this chair?" Nash asks

"Can somebody please tell me how to turn that stupid voice thing off?" Garrett asks, Kaitlynn nods her head in agreement.

"I will join Raina in your prison, Agent Coulson, but I will see you wherever you go, just as I saw you holding Skye in your arms, bleeding…." The computerized voice says, Kaitlynn locks her jaw and tightens her grip on her gun in anger, not liking him talking about Skye, especially like that. "Dying…knowing it was all your fault." He finishes, they all watch as Coulson slowly walks towards Nash wondering what he'll do.

"You're going away." Coulson says "We're gonna stick you in a little box where no one will ever hear you again."

"I see you're angry." Nash says "Head clouded with lies. You've been betrayed, and now you fear what's about to happen."

"Nothings about to happen." Coulson says "Just more empty threats from you."

"No. It is the inevitable. A force beyond your comprehension is coming for you. You and Skye." He says "She has something we want. And she will die giving it to us. I have seen it."

"Go to hell." Coulson says

"No matter where I go or what you do to me, I will always-" Nash's next words are cut off by a gunshot. Everyone turns and looks to see Ward standing there with his gun drawn, not an ounce of remorse in his eyes. Quickly everyone turns their guns on him unsure of what he'll do next, Nash flat lining in the background.

"What did you do?" Coulson asks, Ward doesn't respond as he lowers his weapons and allows May to take it.

"Bet he didn't see that coming…" Kaitlynn says under her breath as she looks at the monitor thats displaying a steady line of a non existing heartbeat.

"He's dead." Garrett says as he turns the machine off "Its over."


	15. Chapter 15

Kaitlynn sighs as she climbs into the van where Skye and Fitz are.

"Hey what the hell happened down there?" Skye asks as Kaitlynn sits down

"Ward shot Nash." She says simply "He's dead…Now this whole thing is over."

"I never thought Ward would do something like that…" Fitz says, Kaitlynn shrugs

"He's a specialist…cold blood is a basic requirement." She says

"What going to happen to him now?" Skye asks

"Now he goes in front of the review board and they decide what his punishment for this is going to be." She says "Coulson is in the car with him now, talking to him." She says, they all jump when there's a knock on the door with someone telling Fitz to collect his retrievers.

"Duty calls." Fitz says as he climbs out the back, leaving the two girls alone. Skye looks over at Kaitlynn and sighs when she sees the blonde's cut on her head that she refused to let medical look at. The hacker finds the small first aid kit they have and walks over to sit next to the blonde.

"Let me see your head." She says

"I'm fine…" Kaitlynn says with a tired sigh

"Just…let me see it…please." Skye says, the two girls stare at each other before the blonde nods in defeat. Kaitlynn turns in her seat so she's facing the hacker, allowing her to see the wound. Skye gently places her hands on the side of Kaitlynn's face and tilts her head slightly to get a better look at the cut.

"It doesn't look like you have any debris in there…but we should still need to clean it to be sure." She says as she lets go of her head and takes out the things she'll need.

"Is it wrong that I'm happy that Nash is dead?" Kaitlynn asks after a few seconds of silence.

"What?" Skye asks confused as she pulls out a small bottle of peroxide along with a few cotton balls.

"I'm happy Nash is dead…the way he was talking about you…" Kaitlynn says "He says that they were going to kill you and- and-" she says starting to get angry all over again just at the thought of it.

"Whoa. Hey…I'm right here…" Skye says as she places her hand on the blonde's cheek, calming her "Nash is dead. I'm alive. No one is going to hurt me. Okay?" she says, Kaitlynn sighs and nods her head. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about me." Skye teases, the hacker bites back a laugh when she sees the blonde's eyes widen slightly and a blush color her cheeks.

"I um…yea…I….umm…" Kaitlyn stutters only causing herself to blush harder, Skye finally loses it and laughs.

"I-I'm sorry…I was just messing with you." She laughs

"Oh thank god." Kaitlynn says under her breath in relief making Skye laugh harder. Kaitlynn smiles at hearing the brunette laugh glad that she is the cause of it…even if it was at the cost of her own embarrassment.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Skye asks with a small smile once her laughter dies down.

"What?" Kaitlynn asks confused, Skye chuckles as she shakes her head.

"Come here and let me fix you up." The hacker says as Kaitlynn scoots closer to her. The blonde winces when the peroxide soaked cotton ball touches the cut making her pull away. Skye chuckles

"What?" Katlynn asks confused

"You. You can get shot in the arm and not even flinch when they stitch it but a small cut is a totally different story."

"Has anyone ever told you that your bedside matter sucks?" Kaitlynn says with a small pout as she allows Skye to clean the wound again.

"Well most people don't complain…" Skye says as she finishes cleaning the wound and pick up a few butterfly Band-Aids and gently puts them on the cut. Skye's eyes shift down to see a pair of green eyes staring at her. The two girls stare into each others eyes, both unknowingly getting closer to one another, their lips barely brush against each other when Fitz comes back in making both girls jump apart blushing.

"Stupid agents…almost broke three of the retrievers…" Fitz mutters as he sets down his things, completely unaware of what he almost walked into. "Oh um Kaitlynn May's looking for you." He says, Kaitlyn clears her throat as she stands up from where she's sitting.

"Right…I'll uh see you guys back on the B.U.S." she says awkwardly as she hurries out of the van, Skye staring after her.

"What-? Did something happen?" Fitz says confused as he looks at Skye whose staring at the place where Kaitlynn once was. Skye takes a deep breath and shakes her head no.

"No…Nothing happened." She says giving the engineer a fake smile, silently wishing that he didn't interrupt.

* * *

_TIME SKIP: BUS _

Skye takes a deep breath before pushing the door open, where they are holding Ward to see him leaning against the wall.

"Thought you were Coulson." Ward says as she shuts the door behind her, both of them taking a seat at the table, Skye handing him a water bottle. "Thanks."

"Why'd you do it?" Skye asks after a moment of silence

"I lost it." Ward says simply "I got angry. He pushed all the right buttons."

"Coulson said the mission was to capture, not to kill."

"Think about what the Clairvoyant said, what he's done." Ward says "Think about the Centipede program, how he experimented on innocent people like Mike Peterson, how he kidnapped and tortured Coulson, How he ordered Quinn to shoot you. And he wasn't gonna stop, Skye. Not until you…" Ward says but cuts himself off "I wasn't gonna let that happen."

"Do you regret it?" Skye asks

"No." Ward says without hesitation "Not if it means you're safe. You and the rest of the team." He says, the two agents talk a little more before Skye leaves to talk to Coulson about what she found out about the Clairvoyant.

Skye stops in the doorway of Coulson's office carrying her tablet and knocks on the door, speaking when he looks up at her.

"Mind if I talk some stuff through with you?" She asks "Are you busy?"

"I'm worried." Coulson says

"About Ward?" Coulson nods "I know. I can't believe he just killed someone like that."

"I'm worried he killed the wrong man." Skye looks at him questionably "How do we know it was him? He never spoke. The computer spoke for him. How do we know that he was the one controlling it?"

"Are you saying Nash could have been pretending to be the Clairvoyant?"

"I'm saying Nash could have been a prop."

"And now he's dead."

"After the attacks led us right to him." He says "The investigation all wrapped up in a neat little bow. I feel like he could still be out there right now, in our heads."

"Or in our files." Skye says, Coulson gives her a confused look "When you told me to check into the psych evals, you said something. You said 'Read his mind' and it got me thinking. And Ward said that the Clairvoyant knew how to push all the right buttons."

"Raina did that to me, too." Coulson says

"Did she mention your father's death?" Skye asks "Your psych evaluation called it a 'Defining Moment'" she says making Coulson look up and take the tablet to see for him self "These aren't just personality tests. They're surveillance on every agent. Pictures, Stats, where you've been stationed, who'd you'd visit, where you like to eat."

"Dinners at the Richmond." Coulson says in realization "He's been monitoring us. Think about it." He says "The Clairvoyant only knew you'd be at Quinn's villa-"

"-After I dropped a tracker." Skye says catching on "And the only thing he's had trouble seeing is what happened to you after you died."

"Because Director Fury wouldn't release that file to anyone."

"No." Skye says realizing what Coulson is saying

"The Clairvoyant doesn't have abilities. He has security clearance." Coulson says "He's an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." he says before walking out of the room to talk to Ward.

* * *

_WITH KAITLYNN: _

Kaitlynn sighs from her place in her bed, reading her book. She jumps when she hears gunshots, quickly jumping out of the bed she grabs her gun and runs to the source to see May standing in the cargo bay with an I.C.E.R. pointed at Fitz with the rest of the team, with the exception of Ward, pointing guns at May.

"What the hell is going on?" Kaitlynn says confused as she lowers her weapon, taking in the scene around her.

"This one is not. Its real, with real bullets." Coulson says "So you better put yours down and tell me what the hell's going on right now."

"I-" May stutters

"Now!" Coulson yells

"You better listen to the man, Agent May." Skye says

"You have no idea what you're doing." May says

"Maybe not. But I know your not fast enough to take us both."

"May?" Kaitlynn says as she takes a step forward "What's going on?" May looks at the confused blonde before looking up at Coulson.

"Look…" May says as she lowers her weapon "I can explain everything. But not here."

"Why not here?" Coulson asks in anger "You have to check with someone first, using that encrypted phone in the cockpit?"

"What?" Kaitlynn says, May shoots a glare a Fitz.

"Who's on the other end of that line May?" Coulson asks

"I can't say." May says her jaw locked in anger and frustration.

"That's okay. I think I know." Coulson says "It makes sense now, why Deathlok put Blake in critical condition, left you alive and well, why he led us to the track only to disappear instead of defending his boss. Why would he do that? Because that wasn't his boss, was it? Was it?!"

"What are you talking about?" May asks confused

"Stop lying to me! Who do you answer to?!" Coulson yells "Who's the real Clairvoyant?!" before May can answer the plane lurches forward making everyone have to grab onto something.

"What did you do? Where are we going?" Coulson asks

"I don't know! I didn't do it, Phil!" May yells "I don't know what's happening here, I swear!"

"If you're not doing this who is?" Coulson asks, Kaitlynn looks around at everyone, silently wondering what the hell happened in the last few hours that made everyone turn on May.


	16. Chapter 16

"Drop the weapon." Coulson orders

"Coulson-" May tries

"Drop the damn weapon and kick it over to the stairs, May, Now!" Coulson says not wanting to hear it.

May sighs before dropping the gun and kicking it over to the stairs

"Now back the hell up! Over there!" Coulson orders

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on!?" Kaitlynn yells frustrated as Coulson walks down the stairs and takes May's gun.

"Tell us where you rerouted the plane." Coulson orders, no one answering Kaitlynn

"I didn't set this new course. I swear!" May says

"Don't lie to me!" Coulson yells

"Yeah well the plane just turned around for god's sake!" Fitz's yells

"How is this happening then?" Skye asks trying to be civil.

"H.Q. can override automated control of the avionics, take us anywhere they want." Kaitlynn says "What the hell is going on!"

"May's had a encrypted phone in the cockpit. Nash wasn't really the Clairvoyant its someone in S.H.I.E.L.D." Skye says

"And what you guys think its May?" Kaitlynn asks shocked, her mentor would never do that. Would she?

"Let me check the instrument panel and ill be able-" May tries

"-No way!" Fitz yells

"You're not going anywhere till you explain what-" Coulson starts

"-Its not me!" May yells

"Why did you have an encrypted hard line?" Coulson asks, Kaitlynn looks at her S.O wanting to know what the hell she was doing with that line.

"And try to shoot me when we found it?" Fitz asks

"What?" Kaitlyn says both surprised and confused.

"Lets take a breath, huh?" May says

"Lets not!" Coulson says loudly, May takes a deep breath trying to calm her self, she glances at Kaitlynn to see her confused and hurt expression before turning back to Coulson.

"It was a dedicated channel…to Director Fury." She says "That's the truth."

"Director Fury?" Coulson says "I haven't been able to get him on the line for weeks."

"You were reporting to him?" Skye asks

"That's all I can tell you." May says

"Oh just come out with it!" Fitz says

"That's all you can tell us?!" Coulson says frustrated

"I'm under orders!" May says

"May just tell them." Kaitlynn says wanting the argument to be over

"I can't." May says as she looks at the blonde who she thought of as a daughter "Fury will tell you." She says

"Was this an order?" Fitz asks as he points to the blue smudge on the glass from where he's locked inside the lab. "To shoot me in the bloody head?"

"Hold on." Coulson says "We're not headed to Fury anymore."

"I don't know where we're headed." May says tiredly "And I can't get Fury on the line because Fitz cut the line!"

"Skye told me to!" Fitz defends himself

"Someone was talking to the Clairvoyant, the _real_ Clairvoyant." Skye says

"Why were you tampering with the plane's SAT cable, Fitz?" Kaitlynn asks after a moment; everyone turns to Fitz wondering the same thing.

"I was trying to speak to Simmons at the HUB." He says

"And you needed an encrypted line?" Coulson asks "What's so secret that you-?"

"Well you tell me!" Fitz interrupts "Simmons and I know you, Skye and Kaitlynn have been whispering, keeping things from us, about the drug that saved your life." He says making the people in question fidget uncomfortably "Simmons is just trying to figure out how the whole thing works!"

"Fitz. Who is she talking to?" May asks, when he doesn't answer Coulson commands him to open the door.

"No way. Not until we sort this out." He says

"We can't get anything sorted until you open the damn door." Coulson argues before turning to the hacker "Skye, get your laptop hooked up to our systems. See if you can pull up any S.H.I.E.L.D. communications." He orders not taking his eyes or gun off May "I want to know where this plane is headed and why. Kaitlynn go with her."

Kaitlynn gives May one last look before following Skye out.

* * *

_TIME SKIP: _

"How are you doing?" Skye asks as she types into her laptop

"Mostly…. confused…. what the hell is going on?" Kaitlynn says tiredly as she rubs her hands over her face.

"That's what we are trying to figure out." Skye asks as she continues to type, the rest of the team joins them.

"How's it coming?" Coulson asks

"There's a lot of noise…" Skye trails off as she types

"What do you mean noise?" Coulson asks

"I mean noise. Its some sort of blanket signal." She says

"Encoded data, maybe." Kaitlynn says

"I think so."

"You want to fill us in?" Coulson asks May "We find you out, a mole, suddenly our plane shuts down, our communications jammed." He says

"I don't know what's happening. I wish I did." May says "You have to believe me."

"No, I don't." Coulson says they all turn when they hear a voice coming from the computer.

"Do you read? Do you read, 6-1-6?" the voice says

"Where's that coming from?" Fitz asks

"Close." Skye says as she types into the computer

"Enemy aircraft on my tail. Over."

"Garret?" Coulson says unsure, recognizing the voice

"Coulson, I'm under attack." Garrett says "Drones. Repeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. drones are on my ass." He says "Do you copy?"

"Copy." Coulson answers "Garrett what's happening?" he asks "We lost control of our aircraft."

"Hell if I know." He says "Tell me you got guns on that thing. I'm coming to you." He says, Coulson stands there for a moment, trying to come up with a plan. He looks at May before pulling the trigger on the I.C.E.R. hitting her square in the chest making everyone jump.

"Fitz can you manually wire the guns to weapons control, bypass our system?" Coulson asks

"If I have cables long enough, yeah." Fitz says staring at a unconscious May

"Skye, decode the signal. We need to get ahead of this." Coulson orders "I don't want anymore surprises today." He says before turning to Kaitlyn "Help me bring May into the cell."

Kaitlynn locks her jaw as she pulls her eyes away from her unconscious S.O. knowing this isn't the time or place to go off on Coulson for what he just did. She watches as Coulson cuffs May before walking over and grabbing her feet while Coulson grabs her shoulders and helping him carry her into the cell with Ward.

"What happened?" Ward asks seeing them

"She's a sleeper." Coulson says as they lay her down "I mean the other kind of sleeper." She hears him say before walking out to go ready the plane's defenses.

"Weapons live." Kaitlynn says as she finishes setting up, she moves out of the way so Coulson can have the chair before walking out to go help Skye.

A few minutes later Coulson and Fitz join them.

"It's a simple message repeated." Skye says "Semantic encoding. I needed to find the mnemonic key. It should only take me a minute more to decipher."

"Can I ask the obvious question? What the hell?!" Garrett says now joining them

"We don't know." Coulson says

"We don't even know where our plane is headed." Kaitlynn adds

"Oh, I saw your trajectory. You're being tractor-beamed straight to the HUB." Garrett says "Those drones were launched out of there for sure." He says

"Victoria Hand." Coulson says in realization

"Hand? Cant be." Fitz says

"It can't be what, now?" Garrett asks confused

"The Clairvoyant." Skye says

"I thought Ward capped that guy." Garrett says

"I don't believe the man Ward killed was the Clairvoyant." Coulson says "I think he was an unwitting decoy meant to end our investigation."

"That's a lot of trouble to go through for a red herring don't you think?" Garrett asks

"Because the Clairvoyant is a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Using high level clearance to stay ahead of us, make it seem like she's got psychic abilities." Coulson argues

"She?" Garrett asks "You think Victoria Hand's the Clairvoyant?" Garrets asks, he scoffs when Coulson nods "I don't mean to pee in the punch bowl, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. I was stationed with Vic in Lisbon." He says "She's a hard-ass and a buzzkill at parties, I grant you, but do you really think she's capable of that?"

"Excuse me. Didn't she just try to blow you out of the sky?" Coulson asks

"Don't get me wrong she's definitely gone nuts, but her actions prove she's not the Clairvoyant, right?" Garrett says "I mean if she's been hiding in plain sight all this time…why reveal herself now?"

"Guys." Skye says when she finally breaks the code they all watch the screen as the code breaks and comes together.

"Out of the shadows, into the light." Kaitlynn reads they all stare in shock as the next word forms.

"Son of a bitch." Kaitlynn mutters when she sees it forms the word Hydra.

"I thought Hydra was defeated after World War 2." Fitz says, everyone still trying to wrap their heads around what's happening.

"It was. S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded in the wake of that victory." Kaitlynn says

"And now they're back?" Fitz asks

"Hydra always comes back." Garrett says

"Cut off a head, two more will take its place." Coulson says

"Is it a head? I thought it was a limb." Garrett says as he and Fitz begin to bicker about if it was a head or a limb.

"Its head." Kaitlynn says ending it.

"But it was sent from a S.H.I.E.L.D. source." Skye says "Its got to be some sort of activation signal to Hydra members within S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Hand must be one of them." Coulson says

"Okay, Stop. Stop." Fitz says "What do you mean? In S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Targeting level eight agents, seizing power." Garret says "Wonder how deep it goes."

"The signals everywhere." Skye says

"Which means its deep." Kaitlyn sums up

"You know what this means?" Coulson asks

"Yeah." Garrett says "We're screwed."

"We can't change course, and we have no idea what's waiting for us at the HUB." Coulson says

"The HUB." Fitz says sadly as he thinks to where Simmons is.

"I say we blow a hole in the side of this puppy and parachute out, live to fight another day." Garrett suggests

"We can't." Coulson says

"It's a cherry ride, I'll give you that, but lets not just hand over the keys."

"Simmons is at the HUB. We have to save her." Fitz says

"Oh crap. Yeah Trip's there, too." Garrett says in realization "I don't mind saying I don't like the odds on this one. We should let your specialists out of their cage. We can use every weapon we can get."

"We got to save her." Skye says, Kaitlynn nods in agreement

"We'll fly in there, face the music…even if it's the Hydra theme song." Coulson says, everyone nods in agreement knowing that they can't just leave their friends to die. "Fitz repair May's direct line, Kaitlynn go take stock on our weapons, Skye help her. Garrett take Ward." He says before walking out to get May, hoping that Fury can shed some light onto what's going on.

Kaitlynn walks into the the weapons room with a duffel bag, laying it on the floor before punching in the code before pulling out what's left of their weapons.

"How bad is it?" Skye asks

"We only have enough ammo left for a few Icers but that about it." She says with a sigh

"So bad…" Skye says, Kaitlynn nods her head as she stares down at the weapons. Taking a deep breath, she stands up and looks at the brunette. "What?" Skye asks seeing the look on the blonde's face.

"Look Skye…I want to be honest with you." She says "And there's a good chance that we might not come out of this alive…and if we don't. I want to die without any regrets." She says

"What?" Skye says confused "Kaitlynn we aren't going to die…"

"But if we do." The blonde continues "There is something that I've been wanting to do since the moment I first bumped into you one this plane…" she says as she steps closer to the other girl, both girls stare at each other for a moment before Kaitlyn slowly leans down and captures Skye's lips with her own. Just as she begins to pull away the Hacker wraps a hand around the blonde's neck, deepening the kiss.

After a moment they pull away, leaving both girls flustered as they lean their foreheads against one another trying to catch their breath.

"Wow…" Skye says breathlessly, Kaitlynn smiles

"So umm do you want to…maybe after all this is over…get dinner?" She asks awkwardly making Skye grin at the blonde's nervousness.

"Yeah…I'd like that." Skye says with a small smile, the brunette falls into the other girl as the plane shakes. Making them fall impossibly closer. "What was that?" Skye asks looking around.

"They're knocking out our weapons system…we need to get back to the others." Kaitlynn says as she helps the hacker up before grabbing the duffel and walking out, Skye closely behind her.

They meet up with Garret and Fitz in the lounge area just as Ward shows up asking whose shooting at them. Garrett pulls him aside to catch him up on what they are about to face when they get off the plane.

Kaitlynn jumps on top of Skye, covering her as bullets start to rip through the plane. They all stand up when the shooting ends. They all looks towards Coulson when he and May walk out of the cockpit.

"Fury's dead." Coulson says

"What?" Kaitlynn says shocked

"We need another plane. Gather anything you can off this plane that might serve as a weapon" Coulson orders "Fitz find us a way out of this plane where we don't get shot at." He says before leading May to medical to help her with her gunshot wound.

Kaitlynn helps Fitz and Skye pack everything they'll need into a duffel bag, trying to keep her mind off of what they are about to walk into.

"Is there anything on this plane you don't want them to get their hands on?" Garrett asks them

"The files but that's about it." Skye says

"Skye get everything you can off the plane's system, now that they stopped shooting a surgical strike team is next." Kaitlynn says "Fitz can you cut the hydraulics to the cargo ramp?" she asks, the engineer nods "Great…that will at least buy us some time. Ward go tell Coulson about our plan, Skye with me." The blonde says before walking out.

A few minutes later Coulson and Ward join the two girls in the lab.

"The 0-8-4 specs, Asgardian weaponry, portal creation, Donnie's weather machine." Ward lists over everything they have on the plane's system "If they get their hand on Gravitonium in the fridge-"

"-Its below the fridge. No records." Coulson interrupts

"Okay but on the off-chance we'd give them the designs to weaponize it." Ward says "The drug from Tahiti, sir? All here. If Hydra is really about to seize this plane- "

"-We should wipe the system." Coulson says catching on

"I'm backing it up on this hard drive to keep our edge." Skye says

"Then do it. Scrub the plane clean." Coulson orders

"It'll take some time." Skye says

"We're working on buying you some." Garrett says as he walks through with Fitz behind him.

A few minutes later Skye is done with wiping the plane's system.

"Got it." She says as she unplugs the hard drive and pockets it.

"Hey we need to go." Garrett says as he runs into the room, Skye nods as she follows Kaitlynn, Coulson, Ward, May and Garrett to where Fitz is cutting a hole into the bottom of the plane. They wait until they hear the ramp drop and the explosive that Fitz made go off before they jump through. Kaitlynn covers the whole back up with the grate, hiding it before joining the others into the building.

"Its called a mouse hole." Fitz says, telling Garrett about the device he used to escape out of the plane. "Cuts through anything, really. I designed it a year ago and submitted it for testing, but it never reached distribution."

"Top agents always hog the good stuff." Garrett says

"You're right." Skye says as she hands the hard drive to Ward "The hard drive's safer in your hands. You haven't taught me how to hold up under torture yet." She says

"We'll get to that. Its real fun." Ward says, Kaitlynn rolls her eyes.

"You're not going to get tortured." Kaitlynn says to the brunette before mutter under her breath "I wont let them." Skye gives her a small smile having heard what the blonde said.

"Alright. Here's where we split." Coulson says "Skye and Ward?"

"Heading to the nerve center." Ward says, Coulson nods

"Disable their systems, most importantly, their control of our plane." Coulson orders

"Copy that." Skye says she begins to move to where the nerve center is but is stopped by Coulson.

"Remember, these agents are under orders. Use Icers only." He says before letting them go "We'll find Simmons, get her out."

"We should go straight for Hand." Garrett says "Hydra's always talking about getting their heads cut off, right?"

"Saving Simmons and Triplett. That's our priority." Coulson says

"I agree, and that's how I'd get it done." Garrett says "Hope you have a better plan." He says before walking away.

"Phil I can help you but-" May tries

"We need your help but the cuffs stay on." Coulson says before quacking his pace. Kaitlynn sighs she always hated it when Coulson and May fought only now its about 20 time worse.

"Kaitlynn…" May tries but the blonde agent only shakes her head, hurt by the fact that the woman she thought of as a mother lied to her.

Garrett and Fitz swipe some S.H.I.E.L.D. issued hats to disguise their faces as they lead Coulson, May and Kaitlyn to the security room to, acting as guards. Once the doors open they all walk in.

"We caught 'em the slippery bastards." Garrett says "Agent May took one of mine in the arm. Softy there wouldn't let her bleed out." He says as he leans against the guard acting like he's injured.

"Do you need medical assistance?" the guard asks

"Just your side arm." Garrett says before knocking him out, Coulson, Fitz and Kaitlynn quickly take out the other guards.

"Okay come on Simmons where are you?" Fitz says to himself as he begins to type into the computer to try and find his friend.

* * *

_WITH SKYE: _

Ward and Skye climb down into a utility closet thats near the processing center.

"Damn." Ward curses when he sees all the men outside

"The processing center is at the end of that hall." Skye says

"Give me your Icer." Ward says knowing what he has to do

"What are you gonna do?" Skye asks confused

"Pave the way for you."

"There's like a hundred guys out there."

"12." Ward says as he looks over his weapons "Level five foot, soldiers, basic armor package, and no other way through." He says "The others are depending on us."

"But its suicide." Skye argues

"Not if I don't die." Ward says "And if I do…"

"Wh-Slow down." Skye says

"…Maybe I deserve to." He finishes "I killed an innocent man, Skye. "

"You didn't know." Skye says trying to console him "You thought you were doing the right thing. You thought he was going to-"

"- to hurt you." Ward finishes, Skye looks at the ground awkwardly before handing him her weapon. The two agents stand up from the ground from where they were kneeling "If we make it out of this, maybe we can…grab a drink, you and me."

"Are you-?" Skye asks but is cut off by Ward

"Remember in that bar in Dublin, you offered to…talk?" he asks "I didn't want to talk. I needed to keep things compartmentalized."

"Like with May?" Skye asks, at one time she had been jealous of him sleeping with May but them she met Kaitlynn and everything changed. "I'm not an idiot." Skye continues "We live on the same plane together, for god's sake"

"Well, with her, I knew I could." Ward defends "With you…I didn't want to risk it."

"I was offering to talk, Ward, not to have sex with you." Skye says

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying…I want a chance to take you up on it, to have that talk." He says "Look I know I'm not that guy. I'm too locked-down, too boring."

" _When_ we make it out of this…yes, lets have a drink." She says agreeing to it, thinking to herself that there was nothing wrong with two friends getting a drink together. Ward nods, he turns to leave but stops. Skye is about to question why he stopped but is shocked when she finds his lips on hers.

"Just in case I don't make it back." Ward says once he pulls away from a frozen Skye. "Lock the door behind me." He says before walking out of the the closet. Skye snaps out of her stupor and quickly closes and locks the door. Skye slides down the wall, her fingertips ghosting across her lips, comparing Kaitlynn and Ward.

Where the blonde's kiss was gentle and sweet, Ward's was rough and filled with lust and how she longed to feel Kaitlynn's lips on hers again. Skye is broken out of her thoughts when Ward opens the door, beaten and bloody.

"You ready to hack the system?" He asks, Skye leans down and picks up her back pack. She opens it to reveal some C-4 and a timer.

"Who said anything about hacking?" she asks making Ward smirk.

* * *

_WITH KAITLYNN: _

"There. Agent Hand." May says having spot her on the security feed. "Outside the east wing situation room."

"This is definitely a situation." Garrett says  
"Is Simmons there?" We don't move until we find Simmons." Fitz says

"I'll say it again. Best bet to save her is to use the ventilation system to get above the SIT room." Garrett says "Drop down using Fitz's sweet little mouse hole, and put two bullets through Victoria Hand's heart."

"Yeah its an option, sir." Fitz says

"Without questioning?" Kaitlynn asks

"Questioning what?" Garrett asks "Whether she wants to kill us fast or slow?"

"Last time we did that, we shot the wrong man." Coulson argues

"Because she wanted us to!" Garrett says "Phil, this is a battle for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul, and we're on the front lines. History will remember us this day."

"That's right. Its for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul." Coulson says "And murder without consideration is a sure-"

"Consideration? Consider this." Garrett interrupts "She had one of my men killed with a bomb rigged to his gas pedal. The other two were floating in the hotel pool, and they weren't doing the backstroke."

"But we can just as easily Ice her." May says

"You dont put someone like her on Ice." Garrett says "She had Skye shot in the stomach- in the stomach because she was curious." He says before looking at Kaitlynn "She turned you into her personal doll. Mike Peterson burned alive and turned into some kind of freak." He says facing Coulson once more "She tortured you, using the same machine she used to brainwash that bitch in the flower dress." Coulson's eyes widen after hearing what he said, a look of realization coming over him. "And right now, probably doing the same thing to Agent Simmons." He says "Oh I've considered it plenty, my friend."

"No, Simmons will be fine." Fitz says

"Just being realistic kid." Garrett says, Kaitlyn seeing the look on Coulson's face moves over to where May is, knowing this is going to get real ugly real fast.

"I never mentioned that." Coulson says

"I'm telling you, killing her quick would be a mercy." Garrett continues not hearing him

"I never said Raina had been inside the machine." Coulson says louder "I never told that to anyone."

"I must have read it in a report, then." Garrett says trying to hide his slip up

"You weren't with us."

"The point is, how many more have to suffer before Vic gets hers?"

"You showed up right after."

"What are you driving at?" Garrett asks trying to keep up the façade

"After Skye was shot. Quinn said it was so I would lead the Clairvoyant to the cure." Coulson says "That's exactly what I did. I walked you right in there with me."

"Phil…" Garrett says "Look its been a rough day. I-I get it. But you need to take a second and…" he tries, but stops when he realizes that there's no more he can say that will convince him otherwise. "Dammit." He says just as the S.H.I.E.L.D. swat team enters the room, guns drawn. Katlynn snatches the keys out of Coulson's pocked so quickly that no one except their team notices.

Hiding the key in-between her thumb and the palm of her hand before raising her hands above her head.

"Easy fellas." Garrett says

"Take Agent Garrett into custody." Coulson says "He's the murderer they call the Clairvoyant. He's a traitor.

"Gentlemen, I know Agent Sitwell was in charge of filling your ranks, so at least a few of you know what to do in this situation." Garrett says, when none of them move he continues "Anytime, boys." He says, Kaitlyn uses the distraction when some of the men shooting the others to hand May the key.

"Hail Hydra." Garrett says as the rest of the men chant 'Hail Hydra!'

"Those three men in your unit…I guess they asked all the wrong questions." Coulson says as Garett has their team all line up.

"Until today it was all about keeping the secret."

"Are you gonna kill us?" Fitz asks

"That wasn't my plan, really." Garrett says "If it was, I could of done that anytime I wanted." He says "No Coulson and I go way back, back to the days when Fury was teaching us tactics. Clearing corners, slicing the pie." He says as he motions some old fighting techniques "Remember Phil?"

"Fury would bury you for this." Coulson says

"Probably." He says "Instead he'll just have to roll over in his grave. He must have uncovered our secret. Top brass did what they had to do." Garrett says "Explains why we've suddenly come 'Out of the shadows' Not a minor inconvenience, I might add."

"Top brass?" May asks

"Oh my yes. Tip-Top." Garrett says with a smile "We had a good thing going too, waving the S.H.I.E.L.D. flag as hard as we could. I guess we'll be changing colors now."

"For Hydra?" Coulson asks "You really believe all that crap? Spreading death and destruction?"

"I wouldn't say I'm a true believer." Garrett says "But lets just say I felt the wind changing direction and swung my sail. You really should too."

"I would die before serving Hydra, you sick son of a bitch." Coulson says

"I hate to tell you, but…you've been serving Hydra all along." He says "I guess death is the only alternative. It's a sad thing. I consider you a friend." He says "I was happy when I heard you'd made it through."

"So happy you had me tortured for three days to find out how they did it." Coulson says

"I didn't enjoy that." Garrett says "Phil this is me being honest."

"No John. This is you being a psychopath." Garrett sighs before looking at May.

"I know you'd follow him to the grave so…" he says before giving her an over exaggerated pout before walking to Kaitlynn "Now Angel…one of our greatest assets. The higher ups want you back so your coming with us with or without your say." He says, Kaitlynn bites the inside of her cheek to keep from lashing out as well as to keep the overwhelming fear under control as he makes his way to Fitz "As for you, Agent Fitz, you'll hold a very high rank, run our tech division if you volunteer." He says "If not, you'll have no rank and a lot of pain. Of course either way your services will be required."

"You're gonna suffer for what you've done." Fitz says as tears stream down his face "And I- I plan on being a very big part of that." He says, Garrett chuckles

"I like you kid." He says as he pats him on the shoulder before turning back to the Agents "Alright. Let them have it. But shoot them two in the kneecaps." Garrett says pointing to Fitz and Kaitlynn.

Just as the other Agents were about to shoot, the lights flicker and the room shakes. Using the distraction, Coulson lunges at Garrett, Kaitlynn attacks the guards, May unlocks her cuffs and Fitz hides underneath a table.

Kaitlynn runs at a guard and kicks out his knee, using his body as a shield as another fires as her. Taking the guards hand she fires at the guard shooting at her before grabbing another guard by the head and flipping him over, knocking him out with a solid punch. Looking over she sees May throw a guard over a railing, she goes to call out to her S.O. when another agent holds a gun to her but is stopped when Fitz fires three shots into the Agent. They all turn to see Garrett get the upper hand on Coulson.

"Coulson!" Fitz yells before throwing him a stun grenade, May and Kaitlynn quickly drop to the ground as Coulson sets it off forcing Garrett to go flying. Just as the fight ends, Hand and her men storm in. Simmons comes out from behind them and runs into Fitz's arms.

"I'm not Hydra." Coulson says

"We heard…everything." Hand says, they all watch as one of the men pulls out a bug from behind a pipe.

"Who is? How deep does it go?" he asks. Hand stays quiet, which is all Coulson needs to answer his question in exactly how far Hydra's roots ran.

* * *

_BACK ON THE BUS: _

After Ward leaves with Hand to drop Garrett off at the fridge, the rest of the team sits in the bus waiting for Coulson as they think over everything that they lost, how everything they dedicated their lives to fell apart in front of their eyes.

"Its all gone." Skye says as she closes her badge

"In pieces, at least." Simmons says trying to stay positive, they all look up when they see Coulson come down from his office dressed in a new suit.

"Skye try to restore some of the firmware in the plane's systems. Fitz-Simmons, Kaitlynn get a crew together, Help May patch the holes." Coulson orders, they all follow out of the plane to follow orders, except for May who stays to talk to Coulson.

"So…we made it out alive." Skye says from where she and Kaitlynn are walking a few paces behind Fitz and Simmons.

"We did." Kaitlynn says as she looks at the brunette with a small smile "Once everything settles down a little here…I'm going to take you out."

"And should I know where this date is taking place?" Skye asks, Kaitlynn shakes her head

"Nope…it's a surprise." She says before walking away to catch up with Fitz-Simmons, leaving Skye to wonder what exactly the blonde agent was planning.


	17. Chapter 17

Kaitlynn follows May into the command post to update Coulson

"The Hull's almost completely repaired. Flight systems are back online." May informs

"And the cargo ramp?" Coulson asks

"Fitz assures me that it will be operational." May says

"Sir, incoming transmission." An agent says as the department of the United States Air Force logo appears on the big screen.

"This is Colonel Glenn Talbot, U.S. Air Force." A man introduces himself "I need to speak with whoever's in charge over there."

"Colonel Talbot, I'm agent Phil Coulson." Coulson says as he steps forward "I'm happy we could-"

"-Mr. Coulson, it's a real mess your boys have gotten us into." Talbot says

"Hydra caught us by surprise."

"Well that's an understatement." Talbot says "Its troubling how deeply embedded Hydra was within your ranks."

"Especially troubling for us, sir, but I assure you we're going on the offensive." Coulson says "The HUB is secure. All remaining Agents stand ready to assist you in whatever-"

"-I think we've had about all the assistance we can handle from S.H.I.E.L.D." Talbot interrupts "I'm sending in a peacekeeping force. They're gonna take control."

"Understood. What should I tell my men to expect?"

"We just want to ask a few questions, get the lay of the land." The colonel says "Everything checks out, you and your boys can be on your merry."

"Sounds good." Coulson says, as soon ad the call ends Coulson turns to face his team "This doesn't sound good." He says

"He's lying, definitely, for sure." Skye says

"If Talbot's leading the OP, there's nothing peacekeeping about it." Kaitlynn adds

"Base defenses are operational. We could hold out." May says as they all walk out of the Command post.

"The last thing S.H.I.E.L.D. needs is to start a war with the U.S. government." Coulson says

"What happens when Talbot gets here?" Skye asks

"Best-case scenario we all get subpoenas, spend the next six months tied up in court hearings." Coulson says

"Worse case scenario?" Skye asks

"They skip the subpoenas, and go straight for bunker busters." Kaitlynn answers, Coulson nods

"Bombs. Big bombs." Skye says unenthusiastically

"All the while, Hydra still out there." May says

"Get on the Comms. We're enacting Odyssey protocol." Coulson orders

"Odyssey protocol? What does that mean?" Skye asks

"It means Fitz needs to finish his repairs." Coulson says "We're getting the hell out of here."

Kaitlynn and Skye leave from the group to enact the protocol, May goes to get Fitz to finish the repairs, while Coulson takes care of a few last minute things around the HUB.

Skye and Kaitlynn walk into an empty room that's filled with computers, most of the people that usually would of worked here were either Hydra or are too busy running around the HUB to actually work. Kaitlynn walks over to one of the computers and begins to type commands to all the Agents around the world, while Skye gets on the Comms and announces the protocol as well as Talbot's arrival.

Skye looks over at the blonde whose typing furiously on the computer, a look of pure concentration on her face.

"Soooooo…this date…." Skye says slowly "Are their any hints…that I can know about?" Kaitlynn smirks as she finishes up the commands

"You really can't stand not knowing can you?" She says as she exits out of the computer and turns around to face the hacker, smirking. Skye smiles

"I'm not a big fan of surprises…"

"Neither am I but…I'm sure you'll like this one." Kaitlynn says as she walks closer to the brunette to where their bodies are almost touching.

"So your really not going to tell me anything?" Skye asks, her voice low. Kaitlynn shakes her head as her eyes look between Skye's lips and her eyes.

"Not a thing." She says lowly. Kaitlynn's eyes drift close as Skye starts to lean closer, to where their lips almost touch. Just as their lips are about to brush against one another Skye pulls back slightly.

"Fine…I'll just have to wait then." She says, the hacker smirks when she sees the blonde's eyes shoot open.

"What?"

"I don't kiss on the first date." Skye says with a shrug, her smirk growing when she sees the spy's stunned look. "So looks like your gonna have to wait too then." She says before leaning over and kissing the blonde on the cheeks and happily skipping out.

Kaitlynn stares after the brunette for a moment before shaking her head clear.

"Tease." She mutters under her breath before walking out of the room knowing she has to update Coulson.

* * *

_TIME SKIP: _

Back on the BUS Kaitlynn gathers up all the food and medical supplies she can and brings them onto the plane for Jemma to take inventory of.

"That's the last of it." Kaitlynn says as she sets the last box down in front of Simmons and Triplettt "Pretty much everything has been raided there's barely anything left." She explains, the two agents nod before picking up what they can and moving it into the lab. Kaitlynn goes upstairs to talk to Skye just as May and Coulson come aboard.

"That was a dirty trick you played." Kaitlynn says as she walks into the command post making Skye chuckle.

"Figured it was pay back for you not telling me where our date is going to be." She responds making Kaitlynn smile at hearing the word date.

"So umm were you uh serious about the whole first date thing?" the blonde asks, making the hacker smirk.

"You'll just have to wait and see…" Skye says, Kaitlynn opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by May walking in.

"Wheels up in 10. Kaitlynn I need a co-piolet." May says before walking out

"That's my cue." Kaitlynn says with a sigh before following her S.O. out and into the cockpit.

Kaitlynn walks in to see May already flipping switches with her head gear on, getting ready to fly the plane. Kaitlynn sits in the co-pilot seat and quickly falls back in routine with her former S.O. just like back when May was first teaching her how to fly.

"I'm sorry." May says once they get the plane in the air "For not telling you about Fury…I'm sorry."

"I don't think its me you have to apologize to." Kaitlynn says knowing how mad Coulson is.

"He doesn't want to hear it." May sighs, the two agents sit in silence for a moment before Kaitlynn breaks it.

"I get why you didn't tell any of us…that you were just following orders." She says "I was hurt at first…but I get it…. but you _really_ need to talk to Coulson."

"I know." May says tiredly "So…you and Skye?" she asks after a moment, May smirks when she sees Kaitlynn blushing slightly.

"I umm…I asked her to get dinner." Kaitlynn says

"And she said yes?" Kaitlynn nods "You need to be careful with her." May says making the blonde look at her strangely. "Her past…its-its…dangerous." Kaitlynn scoffs

"Our lives are dangerous. We are currently running from Talbot's forces and Hydra." The blonde says "The life we live, we could die at any moment and yet we're still here. And as for Skye's past, I may not know all of it but she did tell me about the village and how S.H.I.E.L.D. had protected her all these years. I know that she's an 0-8-4" She says "I know what I'm getting myself into."

"I just don't want to see either of you get hurt." May says sincerely

"I wont let it happen." Kaitlynn says, hate thinking about anyone or thing hurting Skye. Their moment is broken by Coulson entering the Cockpit.

"Any sign of Talbot's forces?" Coulson asks

"Not yet, but we've only got eight hours of flight time before we have to land."

"No more than four. Fuel line's leaking."

"Want to tell me where we're going?" May asks

"I don't know." Coulson says before walking out, May looks over at Kaitlynn who just shrugs not knowing what to do. A few minutes later Skye comes into the Cockpit to collect their badges.

"Coulson doesn't want us flashing them around…since theirs really no point anymore." Skye explains

"Makes sense." Kaitlynn sighs as she pulls hers out and hands it to the brunette, May silently does the same.

"Great now all I need is FitzSimmons, and Trips and we'll be set." She says with a sigh before walking out.

"So do you know where your taking her for your date?" May asks, after Skye leaves.

"I thought you didn't like small talk?" Kaitlynn asks suspiciously, May shrugs

"I'm curious as to what your planning." She says making the blonde sigh

"I'm thinking maybe a dinner and a movie…" Kaitlynn says "There's not much we can do since we have to lay low."

"Sounds nice." May says "Do you know where?" the blonde shrugs

"I guess wherever we end up?" she says "Not exactly the best time for options." May nods her head in understanding, both agents falling into a comfortable silence before its broken by Coulson telling them to meet in the command room in 5.

"So Director Fury's alive?" Simmons asks excitedly once Coulson walks into the room, May and Kaitlynn look at him confused as to what's going on.

"What did he say? Does he have a plan?" Fitz asks

"He only sent coordinates." Coulson says

"The coordinates should put us somewhere in the Canadian wilderness." Skye says as she types the coordinates into the computer, pulling up a satellite image of where they are going to be headed.

"What exactly are we looking for here?" Kaitlynn asks as they all look at the image on the screen.

"Its unclear. Maybe a rally point of some kind." Coulson says as he looks closer to the image

"Sir, have you and Agent Fury used this form of communication before?" Simmons asks

"Never."

"Then how can you be sure that-" She starts but is cut off by Coulson

"Because this is how he operates."

"Could be a trap." Triplett says "So far everything has been a trap. Am I wrong?" he says, he looks around the table. Seeing that no one says anything different he continues "Hydra could have sent you those coordinates."

Coulson steps away from the screen and towards his team as he takes out his badge, the coordinate numbers still glowing.

"Nick Fury…gave me this badge." He says as he opens it "When he did, I swore an oath. We all did. To serve when everything else fails, to be humanity's last line of defense, to be the shield." He says before placing his badge back inside his pocket. "These coordinates mean something. I'm certain of it. Fury also gave me this plane. Anyone wants off, chutes are in the bay. Help yourself." He says before walking out of the room, Kaitlynn watches as May follows him out while the rest of the team splits up.

"What do you think?" Skye asks "About all this? The coordinates and everything?" Kaitlynn sighs as she looks back at the imaging on the screen, thinking back over everything she knows about Coulson.

"Coulson has never led me wrong." She says after a moment "So I don't see why I should lose faith in him now."

"But what if Trip's right? About Hydra?"

"Then we'll deal with it." Kaitlynn says with a shrug


	18. Chapter 18

_TIME SKIP: _

"Everyone gear up! We're landing." Coulson orders as he begins to hand everyone their S.H.I.E.L.D. issued snow gear.

"Is there anymore hats in there?" Skye asks "I lost mine." She says sheepishly, Kaitlynn gives the brunette a smile.

"All that's left are ball caps." She says as she holds one up, seeing Skye's face she pulls her bright purple hat out of her pocket and hands it to the girl "Here. Take mine."

"No…I can't- What are you going to where?" Skye asks as she pulls the hat onto her head. Kaitlyn smiles at how cute the hacker looks all bundled up.

"I'm fine with this." She says as she holds up a baseball cap and places it on her head. Their conversation is cute off when Coulson begins to speak.

"Coordinates are about a 7-mile hike from here." Coulson says as he zippers up "Which means terrain's pretty rough, even if it wasn't covered with snow."

"Agent Robinson and I could lead a scouting party first, make sure this isn't a trap." Trip suggests

"There's no time. In less than eight hours, a NATO satellite will pass directly over us." Coulson says "If the BUS is still here, they'll know. I've been doing this long enough to know that something's up there." He says "But this mission has to be your choice. A lots changed in the last few days. I know you all have your doubts about what we've been doing, about me." He says looking at May "But I font which is why I'm going to find whatever Fury has waiting for us… with you or without you." He says before lowering the cargo ramp and pulling out a compass and his badge before hiking into the snow.

Skye and Kaitlyn look at one another before grabbing their bags and walking after him, May follows closely behind them.

"Well, you heard the man." Fitz says "We don't have much time." He says as he walks out, Simmons and Trip are the last ones out of the plane.

_TIME SKIP: _

After miles of hiking through the snow, freezing, they finally arrive at where the coordinates have led them.

"This is it!" Coulson yells as they all gather around to see exactly where the coordinates have led them only to see an empty opening in the woods. "There's got to be something here. Stay alert. Eyes open." He says "Its got to be here somewhere."

"How long should we look before thinking about heading back?" Skye asks, freezing from the weather.

"We're not going back, not until we find whatever Fury has waiting for us." He says determinedly

"What about the Satellite?" Trip asks

"It doesn't matter. The BUS used all its remaining fuel just to get us here."

"Did you know this _before_ flying us out into the middle of nowhere?" Simmons asks angrily

"It was the right play." Coulson says, defending himself "Fury sent us these coordinates for a reason."

"And what reason is that?" May asks tiredly

"I don't know, May! I don't know!" He yells angrily "There's got to be something here!" he says before holding up his bade to his team "This means something! This has to mean something! The world needs us. Hydra is out there. We cannot let them win. We-We cannot let them define us. Do you understand that?" He asks "We are not Agents of nothing! We are Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that still carries weight! It-It has to carry weight! After everything we've been through, that carries weight!" he yells, finishing his rant. He looks at his team before looking down at his badge, at the numbers that lead them to nowhere. "I'm sorry." He apologizes, feeling bad for taking out all of his anger on his team. He looks down at his badge one last time before throwing into the clearing.

They all jump and duck for cover behind rocks when a machine comes out of nowhere and shoots the badge.

"Well seems like we found it!" Fitz yells from his place behind a rock with Skye, they all stare at the gun as it move back and forth looking for any signs of movement.

"Nobody move!" Katlynn orders

"I really don't think that's going to be a problem." Simmons sasses

"This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility." Coulson says

"Shoot first, ask questions later? Doesn't sound like S.H.I.E.L.D. to me." Trip says  
"Its not Hydra. This is Fury reaching out."

"There's no way to know that for sure." May argues

"There's one way." Coulson says before getting up from behind his rock, ignoring his teams calls for him not to as he walks up to the gun.

"Identify yourself." A robotic voice says

"I'm Phil Coulson, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." he says, they all breathe a sigh of relief when the gun retracts.

"Welcome, Agent Coulson. We've been expecting you." The voice says before a large rock begins to move revealing the secret base. They all look at each other for a moment before following Coulson inside.

"What is this place?" Skye asks as the door closes behind them.

"One of Fury's secret bases." A voice says, they all turn to see a short man standing in front of them "Uh I call it providence, although technically it doesn't have a name because, technically it doesn't exist, it being a secret base and all." He says when no one responds he continues "If everyone would follow me." He says, with only a small bit of hesitation they follow.

"Pretty cool, huh?" the man says as he stops in the middle of what seems like a cafeteria

"I'm sorry. Who are you, exactly?" Coulson asks the question they've all been thinking

"Eric Koenig, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., level 6." The man introduces himself as he holds up his lanyard

"Phil Coulson." Coulson introduces himself

"I know. I know." Koenig says excitedly as he walks forward to shake his hand. "It is an honor to meet you, Agent Coulson. And I apologize for the kerfuffle outside." He says "The precision remote system was designed to destroy any rapidly moving metallic object."

"It was my badge."

"It was- Okay." Koenig says "That's going to be…tough to replace, but very soon, you're gonna be issued your very own Lanyard." He says before looking at the rest of the team "Lanyards for others will be distributed on a case-by-case basis." He says making Kaitlynn roll her eyes while May smirks as they all start to get out of their snow gear.

"What happened to Director Fury?" Coulson asks "Is he alive?"

"Fury…didn't make it out of D.C. its been rough." Koenig says "We're all a little shaken up, especially now that the fridge has fallen." They all perk up when they hear about the fridge, Coulson gives Skye a look before she walks out of the room with Coulson's cell phone to try and get a hold of Ward.

"Who is she calling?" Koenig asks suspiciously

"We had a man at the fridge." Kaitlynn explains, the whole team breaths a sigh of relief when they sees that Skye has gotten a hold of him. They watch as Coulson and Koenig disappear somewhere to talk in private.

Kaitlynn looks around at her team who are standing around feeling as awkward as she is. Looking over to where Skye is on the phone with Ward, giving him coordinates to the base so he can meet up with them, she lets out a sigh before walking over to the cabinets and begins to look around for food.

She smiles widely when she comes across a family size bag of cheese puffs

"Yes…" she says happily as she pulls them out of the cabinet and immediately opens them, popping a few in her mouth before closing the cabinet behind her. She freezes when she sees the team all staring at her "What?" she asks through a mouthful of cheese puffs.

"Do you really think its safe to eat those?" Trip asks, Kaitlynn looks down at the bag and reads the expiration date.

"They don't expire until a few months from now." She says as she tosses another handful into her mouth, Skye hides a chuckle behind her hand.

"I meant…we don't know where we are. We don't know if we can trust anyone." Trip says, Kaitlynn rolls her eyes

"Well unless you have any cheesy goodness in that bag of yours I'm sticking with my puffs." Kaitlynn says as she eats another handful, May shakes her head and lets out a chuckle.

"Word of advice. Don't get between her and her cheese puffs." May says remembering how that was practically what the girl lived off of before she became her S.O., May takes one last look at the blonde agent before walking out of the room to find Coulson.

Kaitlynn walks over to one of the tables and sits down to eat her cheese puffs, Skye smiles as she walks over to the girl. They silently sit across from one another, both girls staring at each other while Kaitlynn eats.

"God I missed these…" Kaitlynn moans as she eats another handful "I haven't had them since the academy."

"Really?" Skye asks with a raised eyebrow, Kaitlynn nods

"This was pretty much all I ate before the academy then I got recruited and bye bye junk food." She says with a roll of her eyes "But I always managed to sneak them in anyway…but when I got May as my S.O. she knew every damn hiding spot."

"So no more cheese puffs." Skye says catching on, Kaitlynn nods as she pulls out a single puff and points it at the girl

"Exactly." She says with a straight face before tossing it into her mouth, making Skye laugh. "So when's Ward coming?"

"He said sometime tomorrow morning." Skye says with a shrug before stealing one of the blonde's cheese puffs and eating it with a smug smile making Kaitlynn shoot her a playful glare. The two girls soon fall into an easy conversation, neither one of them knowing just what tomorrow has in store for them.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning Skye goes to meet Ward at the front gate, leaving Kaitlynn to tell the rest of the team of Ward's arrival.

"Thought you might have given me bad directions." Ward says with a small smile as he walks in.

"At least the machine gun didn't start shooting at you." Skye says "You okay?" she asks worriedly seeing all the cuts and bruises all over his face.

"Oh, just a scratch." Ward says brushing it off, he winces as he takes hos backpack off "Maybe a broken rib or two."

"Come on." Skye says as she takes the backpack from him "Simmons should take a look at you."

"Then maybe we can get that drink." Ward says suggestively, Skye gives him a small awkward smile before turning away and leading him to where Simmons is.

Skye leads Ward back onto the BUS where Simmons and the rest of the team are waiting for them. As soon as Simmons lands eyes on Ward she orders him to take his shirt off and to get onto the table before she starts addressing his wounds while Ward informs the team as to what happened.

"I'm afraid this might scar." Simmons says as she patches up the cut on his face

"Upside you'll look badass." Kaitlynn says trying to lighten the mood from where she is leaning against the table eating another family size bag of cheese puffs that she managed to find.

"He's gonna be fine though, right?" Fitz asks as he leans in to look at the wounds

"He will if you back up and give me some room." Simmons says nudging him out of the way.

"So what then?" Coulson asks

"By the time we got to the fridge, it was too late." Ward says "It was overrun, Hydra everywhere. We couldn't stop them."

"What were they after?" May asks

"Everything." Ward says "They took weapons, Alien artifacts, anything they could grab."

"I assume that means the prisoners are no longer prisoners?" Coulson asks, Ward nods.

"So…Ian Quinn…" Skye says nervously, making Kaitlynn stand up straighter remembering what he did to Skye.

"I'm sorry." Ward apologizes "He's out. They all are."

"And Garrett? Did he get away?" Fitz asks

"Couldn't stop them from taking the fridge, but I wasn't gonna let Garrett walk…not after what he did."

"Is he the one that did this to you?" Skye asks

"He was a tough son of a bitch." He says

"Was? Past tense?" Kaitlynn asks

"As soon as I had the upper hand, I put two in the back of his head."

"Good." Fitz says

"One from me…" Ward says before looking at Tripp "One for you."

"I would have emptied the mag." Tripp says

"Your all set, well I mean as set as you can be with two cracked ribs and a zygomatic fracture." Simmons says

"Uh for those of you that don't know what that is, that's a…" Fitz says only to joined in explanation by Tripp "A hairline fracture to the cheekbone." The two agents look at each other before Fitz turns away when Tripp smiles smugly.

Kaitlynn raises both her eyebrows, sensing the tension as she pops a few more cheese puffs into her mouth to try and distract herself from the awkwardness.

"You need to rest. Please take some time." Simmons says

"Understood. Thanks." Ward says "Ah one small victory. Hydra didn't get there hands on this." Ward says as he holds up the hard drive.

"A hard drive?" Tripp questions

"Its all the research our teams ever done, downloaded off the plane and encrypted for safekeeping." Skye explains

"We should probably back it up now that we're in a secure facility." Ward says

"First, Skye, I need you on threat assessment." Coulson says "Pull up a list of all the inmates at the fridge. I want to know just how bad this is."

_TIME SKIP: _

"This is really, really bad." Skye says from where she is in the cafeteria at one of the tables with her laptop. May and Coulson standing around her while Kaitlynn sits next to her with her feet propped up another chair as she eats her cheese curls. "Quinn is the least scary of the bunch, and he shot me…twice." He says making Kaitlynn clench her jaw at the reminder.

"Quinn's more a sociopath." Coulson says "A lot of those inmates are full-blown Psychopaths, Violent, impulsive."

"And some with superpowers." Skye says "Lovely."

"Is Marcus Daniels on the list?" Coulson asks nervously, Kaitlynn and May both sit up straighter recognizing the name. Skye types on her computer before turning the screen around to show him Marcus Daniels full bio. "That's him. Cross-checked the list of inmates with crime databases, recent activity. Got a feeling we'll b seeing a slight uptick."

"Okay but that'll take time, and more computer power than my laptop." Skye says "Agent Koenig probably has some sort of- "

"-I'm sure he'll lend a hand." Coulson says confidently before turning to Ward whose been sitting by the counter. "The plane you flew in on. Is it operational?"

"Yeah. You need me to pilot?" Ward asks as he stands up with a wince.

"You heard Simmons. You stay and get better." Coulson says "I'm gonna take a splinter team out and start going after inmates on that list, starting with Mr. Daniels. I think I know where he's going."

"What about me?" Kaitlynn asks

"Stay here with Skye. She'll need an extra pair of eyes to help find all of the inmates." He says, Kaitlynn nods but her eyes nervously flicker over to May.

"Uh you sure its wise to split up the team, leave this base?" She questions "What if its part of Hydra's plan- a distraction?"

"She's got a point." Skye says "I mean Fury brought you to this base for a reason. We're safe here."

"Yeah, we're safe here." Coulson says "But what about everyone else? People who don't happen to have access to a top secret underground shelter?" he questions "What about them? I don't know if its wise, but its right. I'm taking a team, and that's the end of it." He says

A few minutes later Coulson and Koenig exit his office and lead the team down a few hallways to another room.

"What are we doing?" Kaitlynn asks annoyed

"Orientation." Koenig says simply before opening the door to reveal one huge lie detector. "Alright." He says as he walks up to the chair allowing the team to fill in the room "Just gonna need you guys to answer a few questions, a few psychoanalytic, non-sequitur questions."

"A lie detector." Coulson says

" _The_ lie detector, Agent Coulson." Koenig says "This baby measures galvanic skin response, oxygen consumption, micro-expressions, biofeedback brain waves, pupil dilation, voice biometrics-96 variables in all." He says excitedly "Fury designed this himself. He wanted a lie detector Romanoff couldn't beat."

"Did she?" Ward asks curiously

"Like Fury would tell!" Koenig says

"Okay." Coulson says feeling as overwhelmed as the rest of the team even though he doesn't have to go through it "Sooner we get this done, sooner we can get to work." He says before looking at the team "SO who wants to go first?"

Kaitlynn walks in after Simmons, leaving Skye and Ward outside.

"We're gonna start off with some simple questions to establish your base line." Koenig says, Kaitlynn nods "Can I have your full name?"

"Kaitlynn Ann Robinson." She says  
"Eye color?"

"Green."

"You ever been married?"

"No."

"Please list your immediate family." He asks, Kaitlynn locks her jaw not liking to talk about her past.

"Both my parents and brother are dead." She says tightly

"I'm seeing a rise in your heart beat why is that?"  
"I don't usually talk about my family." She says, Koenig stares at her before nodding his head accepting the answer.

"What's the difference between an egg and a rock?" He continues

"One has the power to end a life while the other can create it."

"Have you ever heard of project insight?"

"No."

"Ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce?"

"No."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is inside this box?"

"How big is the box?" she asks, Koenig sighs almost like he's gotten the question before

"Just say the first thing that comes into your mind."

"A helicopter with a full tank of gas." Kaitlyn says before adding as an after thought "And cheese curls."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So why are _you_ here?"

"This teams the only thing I've ever had come close to as a family." She says, Koenig looks down at the results before looking back up at the blonde.

"Congratulations Agent Robinson. Let's go get you a lanyard." He says making Kaitlynn smile happy to finally be out of the chair.

A few minutes later Kaitlyn exits the room, pulling her lanyard over her head.

"How'd it go?" Skye asks once she sees her

"Easy as pie." Kaitlyn says with a small smile, Skye nods before walking in. Kaitlynn turns to see Ward looking at the door nervously "There's nothing to be nervous about all you have to do is talk a little about yourself and then that's it." She says, Ward nods his head

"Yeah…Yeah I know." He says, Kaitlynn stares at him for a moment trying to figure out what's wrong with him before chalking it up to him still being in pain from his fight with Garrett and walking away to find more cheese curls.

_TIME SKIP: _

Kaitlynn stops short when she hears arguing coming from inside of the cafeteria, she waits until the yelling stops to see Coulson storms out of the room. Kaitlynn watches him round the corner before walking in seeing a pissed off looking May.

"You alright?" She asks

"Fine." May sighs as she goes to leave but is stopped by Kaitlynn

"What are you going to do?"

"Coulson doesn't want me here." She says simply

"You know that he does…He just needs some time to cool down."

"And that's what I'm going to give him." May says as she walks out, Kaitlynn jogs to catch up with her.

"Your going to find out whose behind T.A.H.I.T.I. aren't you?" Kaitlynn asks when May doesn't respond she continues "You want some backup?"

"No." May says "Stay here and help Skye track the other inmates. I'll be back in no time."

"Well at least call me if you need help." Kaitlynn says not leaving any room to say no, May nods "Oh and also say Hi to your mom for me." She says causing May to smirk.

"Its strange how well you know me." She says, Kaitlynn shrugs before turning down a hallway opposite to where May's going to meet Skye.

As she's walking she meets up with Ward

"Well since your standing here I take it the lie detector went well?" she asks

"Yup got my pass." He says as he holds up the lanyard for her to see. Kaitlyn nods as she throws a few cheese curls into her mouth as both agents walk into the room to see Skye and Koenig arguing. As soon as Koenig seems them he covers something up on his desk making Kaitlynn raise an eye brow at the comm agent.

"Can you help me convince Steve Rogers here to suit up, grab his shield, head into battle?" Skye says to them as she looks pointedly at Koenig.

"Okay? Whose he supposed to battle?" Ward asks

"If we hack NSA satellites, we can get footage from the fridge breakout, see who was there, where they went."

"Its worth trying." Kaitlynn says with a shrug not noticing how Ward seems to shift uneasily at the idea.

"You know, I can't hack the NSA, but maybe I can upload the hard drive you gave me, get the specs on the weapons they might be carrying." Ward suggests

"Absolutely. We should. But we can't." Skye says "The encryption is location-based. We'll have to take a field trip at some point to decrypt it."

"Okay! Alright." Koenig says "Color me impressed. Now impress me more. Get me that footage. These are the keys to the COMM/SAT room." He says as he hands her a key card. "The Mainframe is in there. Start the hack but then send the feed to these monitors." He says "Lets live dangerously."

"Yeah." Skye says happily

"How long before you get visuals?" Ward asks

"Um…NSA satellites should be tough. Give me an hour." Skye says before walking out with Kaitlynn behind her.

"Great." Ward says

"This is exciting." Koenig adds like a kid getting to stay past his bed time on a school night "Lets see if being sneaky pays off."

_TIME SKIP_

"Are you almost done?" Kaitlynn whines as she pours the remaining cheese puffs into her mouth as she slowly turns around in circles in the rolly chair she was sitting in.

"Almost." Skye says not taking her eyes off the screen

"But its been like a half hour." She says making Skye roll her eyes

"Who knew you could be so impatient." The hacker teases, a smirk playing across her lips.

"I am _not_ impatient." The blonde says with a slight pout "I'm just bored…and we are out of cheese puffs." She says, Kaitlynn smiles when she hears the brunette laugh.

"Well the feed should be up soon if you want to go see them with Koenig." Skye says, Kaitlynn sighs as she stands up from her chair.

"Might as well…probably should get all this cheese off my hands anyway." She mumbles as she looks down at her cheese covered finger tips.

"Why are you so obsessed with cheese puffs anyway?" Skye asks making the blonde agent smirk.

"It's a secret…maybe I'll tell you someday." Kaitlynn says smirking to herself when she catches Skye's annoyed look. The blonde grins before wiping her cheesy hands on the hacker's arm, leaving a cheesy trail before running out of the room laughing while Skye yells after her.

Taking a few turns Kaitlynn finally finds the bathroom and quickly washes her hands free of the left over cheese. Walking out she sees Ward walking down the hallway.

"Hey do you mind helping me with something?" Ward asks

"Sure." Kaitlyn says with a shrug as she follows him into a storage room "What do you need help with?" she asks as she looks around the room. She freezes when she sees droplets of blood on the floor, and tenses even more when she hears the sound of a gun being cocked from behind her. She mentally curses at herself for her own stupidity when she realizes that she forgot her gun in her room.

"I'm sorry." Ward says "I didn't want it to come to this."

"Your working with Hydra." She states

"No…just Garett." He says, as soon as she hears the safety being turned off Kaitlynn turns around quick as lighting and kicks the gun out of Ward's hand, sending it across the room.

She throws a few jabs which he blocks before flipping her over and putting her in a sleeper hold.

"I never wanted this." He says breathlessly

"You betrayed us!" Kaitlynn grounds out before elbowing him in his broken ribs forcing him to let her go. She knees him in the face sending him flying backwards. She takes a step forward to finish the job when Ward grabs his fallen gun and fires.

Kaitlynn looks down to see blood slowly spreading around her shirt, she gasps in pain as she falls to her knees.

"Why'd you do it?" she asks trying to put pressure on the wound as Ward climbs to his feet.

"I need Skye…She's the only one who can crack the hard drive." Ward says, his voice sounding distant as black spots appear in front Kaitlynn's eyes as she slumps forward.

"Sh-She'll never forgive yo-you." She chokes out, she swears she hears Ward whisper an 'I know.' Before the world goes dark.

Ward sighs as he stares down at his fallen former teammate before hoisting her up and placing up on the grate next to a dead Koenig. He quickly cleans up all the blood and makes sure there is none on him and setting up a trap so he knows if someone walks in before walking out to meet Skye.

_WITH SKYE: _

"Eric. Kaitlyn." Skye calls as she walks into the room only to find it empty. She slowly walks up to the monitors to see images of empty rooftops.

"You did it." Ward says making Skye jump and turn around to meet him. "Koenig said you managed to hack the NSA." He says as he walks up to see the monitors.

"Yeah, it looks that way. Where did he go?" Skye asks

"He sending everything over to NATO, CIA, Interpol." Ward says "Guess he hopes they'll take it as s sign of good faith from S.H.I.E.L.D."

"That's smart. Though, looks like all I got was lots of views of an empty rooftop."

"May's gone." Ward says effectively changing the subject

"What do you mean 'gone'? Gone where?" Skye asks

"She left." Ward says "And Kaitlynn went with her."

"Kaitlynn did?" Skye asks hurt overlaying her voice although she tries to hide it, Ward nods. "Wow. So, no goodbye? No Nothing?" Skye asks hurt "She never felt anything for us, did she? She just played me-us….so she could keep an eye on Coulson." She says talking more about Kaitlynn then May.

"That was her mission." Ward says, not catching the undertone of who she's really talking about

"Did you feel anything for her? May?" Skye asks not wanting to think about the blonde

"No. The only comfort we took in each other was knowing we didn't have to." He says

"You can't choose to feel."

"Usually, I can." Ward says "It different with us." He says as he gets up to pour two drinks

"'Us' is a strong word." She says "I mean I know yo-We kissed but to be fair, we thought there was a 97% chance we were gonna…die." She says "But we _didn't_ die."

"Which is good." Ward says as he pours the drinks

"Yes, that is very good." She says before Ward hands her, her drink and they walk over to the couch to sit down. And Ward telling her how he felt since they met.

"If that's how you felt, you had a funny way to show it." Skye says

"Specialists don't spend time with a lot of people." Ward explains "The ones we do, we're all cut from the same cloth."

"Black Kevlar?" Skye asks as she sips her drink, not wrinkling her nose in disgust as the amber liquid burns down her throat having gotten used to the drink from hanging out with Kaitlynn so much.

"Trained to get the job done, keep emotions in check." Ward explains "But you-you're different."

"Different bad?"

"Bad for me." He says "I didn't want to think about you. I wanted to stay focused. And then I saw you after you were shot…fighting to stay alive? But you're right. I'm Kevlar. You're not."

"You don't have to be." Skye says "You don't have to shut people out."

"Yeah I do." He says before looking up so he's looking into her eyes "There are things about me…that you wouldn't like if you knew."

"You think I don't have skeletons?" Skye asks

"Its different." He says "You're…good."

"So are you."

"Not always." He says as he sets his glass down on the table "I lied to you. My older brother…he didn't beat up my younger brother. He was crueler than that. He made _me_ do it." He says "And I let him. I was afraid of him."

"What about your parents?"

"They were worse." He says "I am not a good man, Skye."

"Hey." Skye says as she stands up and moves over so she's sitting next to him. She gently grips his face and turns him so he's facing her before speaking "Yes you are." She says, Ward stares at her before leaning in and bringing her into another kiss.

Skye doesn't know what made her kiss him back, she doesn't know if it the drink that she had that is effecting her judgment or Ward's story but what she does know is that Kaitlynn left with May without so much as a goodbye and Ward was her. So against every fiber in her body screaming at her to pull away she pushes it aside and keeps kissing him.

She finally pulls back when she feel something wet and sticky on her finger tips. She pulls her hand away from the side of Ward's face to see a trickle of blood on it. Ward quickly pulls away and stands up.

"Yeah one of my- one of my cuts must have just opened up." He says nervously as he covers his neck.

"Let me help." Skye says worriedly reaching out to him, Ward quickly pushes her hand away and backs up.

"No, no, no, no. no." he says quickly "I just need to clean up." He says before walking out. Leaving Skye alone.

Skye sighs bored as she walks to Koenig's desk and starts to snoop through his files. She sighs and closes it when she finds nothing interesting, she puts the file down and is about to get another drink when her eye catches Koenig's data pad. Walking around to the front of the desk she picks it up to see her, Ward's. Koenig's and Kaitlynn badges all on the screen. She looks down at the pad confused since Ward said Kaitlynn left. Deciding that Ward probably wont be back for a while she takes the pad and sets out to try and figure out what the hell is going on.

Skye follows the pad down a few hallways until she reaches a room, she gently knocks on the door and calls for either Kaitlynn or Eric since both of their badges say their in the same spot. When she doesn't get an answer she opens the door and a penny falls to the floor.

"That's weird." She mumbles as she picks the penny up and pockets it before walking farther into the room.

"Eric? Kaitlynn?" She calls as she looks around to find it empty she looks back down at the pad to make sure she's in the right room and sees a few droplets of blood on the screen. Looking up she gasps and quickly covers her mouth to not scream when she sees Eric with his throat cut and Kaitlynn lying next to him with a gunshot to the stomach, both of them dead.

Skye looks around the room her mind racing as she tries to figure out who did it, but it clicks when she looks at the screen to see the only one else in the building with her is Ward.

"Ward." She says in realization, she quickly places the penny back up on the doorway and walks out and heads into the bathroom. As soon as she's inside with the door locked she breaks. "No, No." she chants to herself, tears streaming down her face. She places the pad down on the sink and tries to calm herself down. She jumps when she hears Ward call her name.

She lowers herself to the ground by the trashcan as she tries to wrap her head around what's she's just learned. "He's hydra." She says shakily, once she feels she's back under control she knows she has to come up with some sort of plan to worn the rest of her team. Getting up from the ground she starts to dig through the medicine cabinet trying to find something that she can use but finds nothing. She runs her fingers through her hair knowing that he's getting closer and that she doesn't have much time. That's until her eyes catch the painting in the room of New York City at night a plan forming in her head.

Once her message is set she takes a deep breath and calms her nerves, knowing that she cant hide in the bathroom forever. She knows that in order to get out of this alive that she has to play the player, taking one last deep breath she opens the door to see Ward catch the penny from the storage closet.

"Hey." Skye says her voice surprisingly strong "Thing I'd be hiding in a closet?"

"I was wondering where you went." Ward says as he closes the door and pockets the coin. "I went back to the room. You weren't there. Why did you leave?"

"Truth?"

"I'd appreciate it."

"You scared me." Skye says "Opening up, and that kiss-which…was a very nice kiss, I admit." She says the words tasting like acid in her mouth

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"I don't exactly over-analyze." Skye says "I just act impulsively and then I freak out after the fact."

"Are you still?" he asks, Skye shakes her head no and leans up to kiss him. It takes all her will power to bite back the bile she now feels when kissing him.

"No. I'm good." She says "I want this. And you? What do _you_ want?"

"What I want…is to stay here with you and imagine the world outside doesn't exist." He says "But the world outside _does_ exist. I just got word from Fitz. They need our help. The BUS is fueled up, ready to go." He says, he starts to walk away but stops when Skye continues.

"We should tell Koenig." She says

"I just did. He's headed outside to open the hangar doors. We're in a hurry." He says, Skye stares at him any last doubts she had from him not being Hydra vanishing.

"I just got to grab a couple things." She says trying to not freak out, she goes to move away but stops when Ward grabs her arm.

"Hey. We need to go right now." He says, Skye gives him a small smile.

"Of course we do." She says before taking his hand "Lead the way." Ward gives her a small smile before leading her to the plane. Skye sits co-pilot while Ward flies.

"Its so beautiful." Skye says as she stares at the sunset "So are we off to Portland?"

"Actually Fitz thinks the 084 plasma ray we found in Peru might help." Ward says

"Didn't we Jettison that to the sun?"

"Yeah but Fitz has the specs on it."

"On the hard drive." Skye says in realization as to why he needs her. Ward nods "You need me to decrypt the hard drive."

"The _team_ does." Ward says "And since its coupled to specific coordinates, Agent Skye…you're in charge. Where to next?"

_MEANWHILE W/ COULSON: _

Coulson and the rest of the team finally land back at the base and stare around at the empty cargo area wondering where the hell both the plane and rest of his team is.


	20. Chapter 20

Coulson, Tripp, Fitz and Simmons all sit in Koenig's office watching the security footage for what seems like the hundredth time, trying to come up for a reason as to why the rest of the team and their plane are gone.

"Play it again." Coulson orders

"It's the same every time, sir." Fitz says

"Fitz." Coulson warns

"As I said, all internal camera feeds were erased, but the hangar's landing assist system is separate." Fitz explains "The camera tracks movement. So, after we left, everything normal until this." He says as he shows the footage of May leaving the plane.

"An entry log has May leaving the base a few minutes later through the front door- only her." Simmons adds

"And then this." Fitz says as the footage of Ward and Skye walk onto the plane holding hands.

"Holding hands." Coulson notes

"Soon after, the plane takes off." Fitz says "But that is all we've got."

"Where are they going? And Koenig or Kaitlynn?" Coulson asks

"They must have gotten onto the plane somehow." Simmons says

"There's no other way in or out." Coulson says

"The blast door and the hangar door are the only exits." Tripp adds

"And both are undamaged." Coulson says "So nobody attacked the place, and they weren't running away. So why?"

"Maybe Koenig got orders." Tripp suggests

"From who? Not Fury." Fitz says "Is there anyone left to give orders? Aren't we just improvising at this point."

"Still wouldn't explain why the communication lines were cut or why they left their phones or why May just…left." Simmons says

"May walked away because I told her to." Coulson says "I was mad, and I was mean."

"Then we don't need her sorry ass." Tripp says

"Excuse me?" Coulson says turning to look at him

"With all the crap we're facing, this is not the time to pull the ripcord, bail out." Tripp says, seeing Coulson's face Simmons interrupts wanting to get out of the room.

"I'll make us some food. We have to eat." She says before walking out

"Let me help." Tripp says about to stand up only to be stopped by Fitz

"Uh no I'll get it, actually. You stay here." He says before following Jemma. "Simmons." Fitz says catching up with her "For a minute there in the field, I thought things were normal again, and then…why do you think they left us in the dark?"

"I don't know." Simmons sighs "But something will turn up. We just have to stay positive."

"For Coulson, Yeah. I know he's had a rough go of it." Fitz says

"Yeah. Between Garrett and May and seeing Audrey and…pancakes." Simmons says making Fitz look at her confused.

"Coulson's upset about pancakes now?" Fitz asks

"That's one way to cheer everyone up a bit, don't you think?" Simmons asks happy that she may have found a solution to one problem. "I'll see if we have any in stock."

"Yeah I'll fire up the griddle." He says as Simmons walks into the storage closet and Fitz heads for the kitchen.

Fitz stops short when the picture in the bathroom catches his eye. The picture in the bathroom shows a picture of night time while the pictures around the rest of the base are day time. Slowly walking in he sees what looks like a toothbrush stuck in the corner of the frame, removing it he watches in horror as the picture changes to day, and carved into the picture it 'Ward Is Hydra'. Just as the picture is revealed, Simmons's scream echoes throughout the base.

The team rushes to where Simmons is to see the bodies of Kaitlynn and Koenig.

"Oh my god." Coulson breathes out, Tripp is the first one to break out of his shock and climbs up to the top and checks their pulses.

"She's Alive!" he calls as he picks up a pale looking Kaitlynn and gently climbs down "Her pulse is weak but she's still fighting." He says, this snaps everyone out of their trance and they all rush to the med bay. **(A/N I'M NOT THAT GOOD AT WRITING SURGERY SCENES SO BARE WITH ME.)**

Tripp begins to strap Kaitlynn up to a number of different types of machines and wires while Simmons cuts open her shirt. Fitz bringing over any tools she might need. Simmons cleans around the wound before she begins to dig around for the bullet.

"She's flat lining!" Tripp calls as he gets the paddles "Charging." He says, Simmons pulls the bullet out before placing gauze over the wound when it starts to bleed again. "Clear!" Tripp yells, Simons immediately steps back when he places them on Kaitlyn chest and shocks her. Her body lifting off the table before relaxing again.

They turn to the monitor to find no change. "Charging!" Tripp yells before yelling clear and shocks her again. They do this two more times before her heart begins to beat again.

They all let out a sigh of relief before Simmons goes back to work, sticking her hand into the sound she feels around, finding no internal damage done she begins to stitch her up. While she was doing that Trip hooks her up to a blood bag as well as some fluids and an oxygen mask.

Simmons sighs tiredly "Is she going to be alright?" Coulson asks

"She's stable for the time being." Simmons says "She managed to survive all this time because the bullet luckily missed all vital organs. Also the shooter wasn't close range which also helped save her life. She just needs a lot of rest and…she'll be fine."

"We need to find out who did this." Coulson says angrily as he stares down at the girl he's viewed as a daughter.

"I-I found a message." Fitz says his eyes glued to Kaitlynn "I-In the bathroom. It-it said that W-Ward was…hydra." He says before looking up at Coulson not wanting to believe it. "He's not though. Right? Ward would never do that to us." He says, Coulson stares at him wanting to believe him but knowing it want the case.

"Simmons can you perform a autopsy on Koenig?" Coulson asks, Simmons nods her hands slightly shaking from what she did with Kaitlynn.

After they bring Koenig's body into the med bay, Simmons begins the autopsy. Fitz pacing behind her in complete denial that Ward did this. While Coulson stands over Kaitlynn watching the heart monitor with Tripp standing next to him.

"Impossible. It can't be." Fits says "No. No. I-I don't believe it."

"Take a breath Agent Fitz." Tripp says, his voice hoarse

"Don't tell me to take a breath." Fitz snaps "Who the hell are you? I mean, really. Come on. I don't even know who you are."

"I just went through this remember?" Tripp says trying to put a comforting hand on the engineer's shoulder only to have him brush it off.

"Don't touch me." Fitz says before resuming his pacing

"My S.O. turned out to be a lying son of a-" Tripp starts

"-Well Not Ward. Okay? Not Ward." Fitz says "Do you know why? Because he's our friend. And Simmons will find something. Go ahead. Tell him, Jemma."

"Let me work, Fitz." Simmons says sadly, already knowing the answer

"Yeah but tell him that Ward isn't-" Fitz pushes

"-Let me work." She says

"Something else is at play here, sir. Think about it." Fitz says "They're just trying to mess with out heads. They wrote that on the wall to scare us." He says, trying to come up with any other explanation so as to why this can't be Ward. Coulson turns away from Kaitlynn when Simmons brings the blanket over Koenig's body.

"One step at a time." Coulson says trying to keep everyone calm

"We need to get out of here." Fitz says

"Simmons will give her report that's the next step." He says before turning to Simmons.

"He died approximately 10 hours ago of asphyxiation- after May left the premises." Simmons says "A think wire was used to strangle him. His trachea is crushed partially sliced through, so it was done in a hurry. A standard issue S.H.I.E.L.D. side arm of a Smith and Wesson M&P9 was used on Kaitlyn. Based on the angle of the lacerations, as well as the angle of the entry wound on Kaitlynn the killer was at least 6'2" and strong enough to…lift them into…" She chokes out, not having the stomach to keep talking, she confirms what they were all hoping wasn't true "Ward did this."

Hearing Simmons confirm it, Fitz immediately begins to through things and kick and hit the fridge. Simmons immediately runs over to him and tries to calm him down.

"Okay. Okay!" Coulson says helping Simmons calm him down "We need to hold it together. Listen…all that anger, all that pain, you need to hold it in and focus it on Skye. She's alive. And she just walked out of here hand in hand with someone she knows is a murderer because she's playing him just like he played us." He says "Fitz, Fitz…we have to fix the communications. We have to track that plane. Can you do that?"

Fitz stares at him, still breathing heavy from his freak out before nodding his head and walking out.

"Good." Coulson says before turning to the other "If I know Skye, she's got a plan. And we're gonna find her before Ward figures out what that is." He says before silently dismissing his team. He stays there and looks back at Kaitlynn trying to figure out what her play is.

Coulson sighs as he takes one last look at Kaitlynn before walking out to Koenig's office to help his team get everything back up and running. Coulson and Tripp ae in the office working on fixing the computers, while Fitz is creating a device to power everything and leaving Simmons to watch over Kaitlynn.

"Can you grab me a cable?" Tripp asks from where he is on the other side of Koenig's desk trying to fix the "Think there's one in the drawer." Coulson opens the drawer and pulls out a blue cable and hands it to him. Tripp chuckles when he plugs in the cable to see that they managed to fix everything.

"That seemed to work." Coulson says looking at the screen

"Fitz is using the JumpJet's relay to power it. He's like a ninja with this crap." Tripp says as he stands up.

"How's he doing?"

"Freaking out." Tripp says "But focused on the task, which was good advice. And you?"

"Trust me, I'm gonna have a major freak out later." He says as he types a few things in before standing up "Alright. Ward is Hydra. You know what that means."

"Garrett is alive." Tripp says

"And Agent Hand is dead."

"So they hit the fridge." Tripp says

"It means they've got all the weapons. They could possible want." Coulson says "And we didn't have a clue. So why risk coming back here?"

"It wasn't to cross us off." Tripp says "What o you have that he wants?"

"I don't know. He had all our intel on that drive. All he had to do was make a cop-" Coulson says before a look of realization comes over him. "He came back for Skye. She must have encrypted that drive, and she was the only one who could crack back into it."

"So they have to keep her alive."

"And she can stall for time" Coulson says, the two agents are interrupted when the computer begins to beep signaling that they found the plane. "Our plane is in Los Angeles. Finally, some good news." He says, the good news is soon shattered by an alarm blaring.

"Perimeter defenses activated." A robotic voice says

"I should have knocked on wood just then." Coulson mutters

"Multiple contacts on the ground." Tripp says reading the computer showing red dots of the intruders. "They just triggered the gun turrets."

"Come on." Coulson says before walking out of the room, Tripp behind him. They make their way to the entrance of the base, Coulson and Tripp armed with guns. Seeing Fitz and Simmons round the corner Coulson orders Simmons to stay with Kaitlynn and to hook her up to any mobile machines she needs in case they need to move fast, Simmons nods before jogging off to do what she's told as Fitz joins them holding a I.C.E.R. gun.

"These doors should hold." Coulson says to them "It'll take some major artillery to make a dent." Just as he finishes a robotic voice announces that the hangar door has been deactivated.

"How?! That's impossible!" Fitz says

"Take cover. Let's go." Coulson says before they back up around a corner and the hangar door are opened. When the doors open a squad of four men walk in with their guns trained.

"Its not Hydra." Coulson says "Its special forces."

"Ob behalf of the United States Armed Forces, I order you to stand down." Talbot says as he walks in with a megaphone. "I repeat, stand down."

"Colonel Talbot?" Coulson says confused "There have to be better things for you to do than to chase four S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."

"I wasn't a huge fan before chasing you to the damn tundra, Coulson." Talbot says "I wouldn't push it."

"I'm flattered you came in person." Coulson says

"Fury's private base on North American soil? I just had to see I for myself." He says

"If I come out, will you shoot me? Cause then I wont come out." Coulson sasses

"Hold your fire soldiers." Talbot orders signaling for his team to put down their guns, Coulson hands Fitz his weapon before walking out.

"This is one of the most classified facilities on the planet, Colonel." Coulson says as he walks forward with his arms out to show that he's unarmed "How the hell did you find it?"

"I told them." Hill says as she comes into view, followed by two soldiers, Coulson stares at her in disbelief.

_TIME SKIP: _

Coulson and Hill are in Koenig's office going back and forth with one another while Simmons, Fitz, Trip and a still unconscious Kaitlynn are in the cafeteria.

"I am offering you a lifeline here, Coulson." Hill says "Don't thank me. Just take it, and we'll be on our way."

"Don't see how thanks are in order, considering you just sold me out and led the U.S. military straight to Fury's secret base." He says

"No Phil." Hill says as she takes a step closer "You led us to Fury's secret base as part of the deal we made." She says trying to encourage him to take the deal.

"You can't be serious." Coulson says

"You and I are gonna turn over these abandoned tunnels to the U.S. government, who will be ever so grateful to take possession of an enemy stronghold in their backyard."

"What about my team?"

"Well, they're gonna have to go through the system, Interrogations-"

"-Not gonna happen." Coulson says strongly

"Look, talk to Talbot. Cough up some meaningless intel about this place nothing significant, of course, nothing about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s other installations."

"You're still protecting your secrets." Coulson scoffs "Is there anything specific your afraid I'll talk about? T.A.H.I.T.I. maybe?"

"Phil-" Maria tires

"I'm a liability. Is that it?"

"Grow up, Phil." Hill says "Of course you're a liability. But I know you'll do the right thing."

"The right thing? That's funny coming from you." Coulson says "After everything you and Fury have done?"

"Look, it was for your own good." She says

"For my own good. I know. I get it." He says "You should have been straight with me. I would have kept your secrets like a good soldier. I always have. But instead you were worried about me when you should have been worried about anyone else." Hill nods her head.

"Your right." She says "We should have seen Hydra coming. But after D.C., they don't stand a chance."

"John Garrett does." Coulson says, Maria looks at him confused

"Garrett? I heard Ward took care of him."

"Ward's his secret weapon." Coulson says "He killed Victoria hand, then raided the fridge, shot Kaitlynn and now he's got Skye, which is where we were headed until you so rudely interrupted to sweeten your deal."

"I vetted Ward." Hill says frustrated

"You want to make this right? Stop wasting time."

"Can we move this along?" Talbot says as he enters the room followed by two soldiers "I'd like to tear this room apart."

"Sure, Colonel. Knock yourself out." Hill says before hitting one of the guards. While Maria fight the two soldiers Coulson goes after Talbot. Coulson manages to throw Talbot down an grab an ICER out of Koenig's desk, shooting the colonel before Talbot can pull the trigger on his own gun. Coulson then takes out the guard who was rising behind Maria.

"Get your people. We need to move." Maria says breathlessly

"We?" Coulson asks, Hill shoots him a look before walking out, Coulson following behind

Once everyone's boarded the plane and Kaitlynn's gurney is strapped down they take off for Los Angeles.

"So what's the plan sir?" Fitz asks, Coulson sighs before telling him the plan.

"You really think that's going to work?" Tripp asks

"Hopefully…but we don't have a lot of time to come up with a better one." He says

_TIME SKIP: _

They follow the planes coordinates to an empty airfield in L.A. Coulson gets out of the plane and sneaks over as Hill follows her part in the plan to distract Ward.

"Maria Hill to S.H.I.E.L.D. 6-1-6. You have 30 seconds to stand down and surrender." She says "I repeat, stand down and surrender." When he doesn't respond she begins again "You gonna answer me. Ward, or do I have to come over there?"

"Maria Hill." Ward says aggravated "I kind of hoped you went down with the Triskelion."

"And I hoped you weren't the duplicitous lowlife you turned out to be, but here we are." She says

"Gonna be honest with you Hill." Ward says "I'm having a pretty bad day. So if I were you, I'd get the hell out of my way."

"Give up Skye, and we'll talk about it." Hill says

"Yeah that not happening." He says as he prepares for take off

"You know I never like you, Ward, not since our first sit-down, but I never figured you for John Garrett's lapdog."

"A lot of us lost respect for Fury when he picked you as his second." He fires back "If he needed eye candy around, he could have at least picked Romanoff."

"That's funny. I'll tell her you said that." She says "Now hand Skye over, or I'll have a squad of F-16s knock you on your ass."

"Even if you had that kind of pull anymore, which you don't, Coulson would never let you do it." Ward says calling her bluff "He would never sacrifice Skye like that. But you know Garrett would. So don't try and follow us."

"This doesn't have to go down like this, Ward." Hill says "You don't owe Garrett anything."

"You're wrong." Ward says before pulling up the landing gear. Not knowing that Coulson managed to sneak in through the landing gear before they took off.

"You want me to Pursue?" Tripp asks

"No. Their tracking systems are up and running. Just hope we bought enough time." Hill says

Once the plane's fully in the air, Coulson climbs out of the landing gear and ends up outside of the lab. Pulling his gun he quietly makes his way through the plane and to the cell where he knows Skye is being held. As soon as he opens the door Skye gets up and hugs him.

"Are you okay? Did Ward hurt you?" Coulson asks

"No, I'm okay." Skye reassures him as they pull away "But the encrypted hard drive, I unlocked it for them." She says breathlessly

"Forget that. We need to move." He says before leading her out of the cell "We got to take the cockpit."

"Wait. You came alone?" Skye asks seeing that no one else is around

"Its okay. I can take Ward." Coulson says trying to reassure her

"No, I know, but how did you get passed Deathlok?" She asks making Coulson turn around and look at her.

"Deathlok's here? On the plane?"

"Yeah, you didn't take him out?"

"New plan. Run1" He yells when he turns back around to see Deathlok coming towards him.

"Wait what about you?" Skye asks as Coulson moves into the command room

"Get to the cargo hold. Now" Coulson orders

"I can't let you leave, Agent Coulson." Deathlok says

"Its still my plane." Coulson says as he points his gun at him with one hand and uses the other to swipe through a tablet before pressing a button to lower the cargo ramp. "I don't need your permission." He says before running away.

Coulson enters the cargo hold to see Skye struggling to put on a parachute.

"I've never uses a parachute before!" she calls over the wind

"Forget that! Get in the car!" He yells, Skye drops the parachute and jumps into Lola, Coulson joins her just as Deathlok jumps down. He holds out his arm about to fire missiles at them when Coulson presses a few buttons making two machine guns come out of the headlight, and opening fire on Deathlok and Ward. Coulson yells at Skye to get down as Ward fires a few shots at them.

"Buckle up!" Coulson yells at her before throwing Lola in reverse and out of the plane. Skye screams as they begin to fall, her starting to slip out of the car only to be caught by Coulson who, after a scary amount of time, manages to pull her back in. "I told you to buckle up!" he yells before trying to get the thrusters to start so they don't fall to their deaths.

Only two of the thruster come on, on the right side, sending them tumbling through the air and upside down. Coulson some how manages to get them up right again while trying to get all of the to start "Must of hit the thrusters!" he yells as they continue to fall. Its not until they are a few feet above a pool to the thrusters kick on, Coulson uneasily drives them closer and closer to the ground before they drop in a perfect parallel park in front of some event.

Coulson and Skye look at each other out of breath and in shock as to what they both went through, both of their hair sticking up in strange places. A young adult walks up to them and asks for 20 bucks for parking, completely oblivious as to what's happening. Coulson shakes out of his shock and pulls out his wallet, handing the kid a a 20 shakily.

_TIME SKIP: _

The team set up base a nearby hotel, Simmons and Fitz are sitting by the pool with their feet in while Trip is at the vending machine getting food and Coulson is in his room talking to Maria. Skye takes a deep breath before opening the door to the room where they have Kaitlynn set up in. Closing the door behind her gently she makes her way farther into the dimly lit room, stopping at the edge of the bed where a pale looking Kaitlynn lies. Her blonde hair spread out on the pillow, her arm hooked up to a number of wires and a heart monitor giving off a beeping noise in the background.

Skye chokes back a sob as she walks closer to the girl, hating seeing her like this. The hacker reaches over and moves a stray piece of hair out of the Agents face, thinking how unlike Kaitlynn this is, how her hair and skin don't have the glow that they usually do. Or how the usual energetic girl now lays motionless in bed. Wiping away the few tears that have fallen down her face, Skye takes off her shoes before crawling into bed with the blonde, being careful not to touch any of the wires. She buries her head in the blonde's neck, allowing the beeping on the heart monitor to lures her to sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

**Kaitlynn wakes up with a gasp, ignoring the painful throbbing on the side of her head, turning her head to the side she sees that Max is gone.**

 **"** **Good your awake." A voice says, Kaitlynn turns her head to see Dr. James standing over her by a machine.**

 **"** **What did you do with Max?" She asks pulling on her restraints, James grins evilly at her.**

 **"** **If I were you I would be less worried about your friend and more about what I have planned for you." He says, it was at that moment she realizes that she has dozens of wires hooked all over her body and a small amount of water on the table she's laying in.**

 **"** **What are you going to do?" Kaitlynn asks as she struggles harder against her restraints. Her eyes never leaving James as he walks closer to her holding a syringe filled with a dark blue liquid. She tries to move away from him but he grips the side of head tightly and injects the fluid into the small pouch on the side of head. "What is that?! What did you do!?" she yells trying to hide her fear.**

 **"** **Just a little something to help with the transition." He says**

 **"** **Transition? What are you-" the rest of her sentence is cut off when the liquid is absorbed into her head. She tenses in pain as it feels like her head is being split in half.**

 **"** **Now. Please state your name and who you work for." James says as easily as if she wasn't being tortured and just getting interviewed for a job.**

 **"** **Kaitlynn Robinson. I'm an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." she says breathlessly, James grins before pushing a button on the machine he was standing by, sending a shock of electric currents through Kaitlynn's body. Kaitlynn bites back a scream. James laughs before letting go of the button, cutting off the current leaving a breathless blonde.**

 **"** **What's your name and who do you work for?" James asks again as he injects her with more of the blue liquid. When she answers the same as before he turns the dial up and hits the button. They continue this process for hours, days and weeks but the end result is still the same. Her name is Kaitlynn Robinson and she works for S.H.I.E.L.D.**

 **James sneers at he kills the electricity, before walking out. Kaitlynn faintly hears the sound of James and another man arguing through the door.**

 **"** **I hired you because of your results." A voice says "And yet there are none."**

 **"** **She has proven a difficult test subject…but I assure you that you will have your results." James says, almost sounding afraid of the other voice.**

 **"** **I want results by the end of this month." The voice says, she doesn't hear the rest of the conversation but a few minutes later James walks back in carrying a few containers of pink liquid.**

 **"** **You have been the most frustrating patient I have ever had." James mutters "But I** ** _will_** **get results." He growls before walking over to her and injecting the blue liquid into the pouch before none to gently injecting her with the pink in her arm. Kaitlynn screams in pain, her head feeling like its being split in two while the rest of her body feels like its being burned alive.**

 **She faintly hears James explaining what's going on through her screams.**

 **"** **I've injected you with two different drugs. The blue has been absorbed into your brain and is currently attacking your hippocampus while the pink attacks the nerves making you in large amounts of pain.**

 **"** **Wh-Why are you do-doing this?!" she cries out, James smiles**

 **"** **I'm just following orders…and well I like seeing other people in pain." He laughs, Kaitlynn continues to scream as the pain intensifies before blacking out.**

 **When she wakes up James is standing over her with a sick smile.**

 **"** **Good to see you alive." He says, Kaitlynn looks around the room not feeling quite so alive at the moment. "Please state your name and who you work for." He says**

 **She stares at him for a moment trying to figure out an answer to his question, feeling like its just on the tip of her tongue.**

 **"** **Kaitlynn. My name is Kaitlynn." She says unsure, James scowls**

 **"** **And who do you work for?"**

 **"** **An Agency…We help people…S.H.I.E.L.D.?" She says, her brows furrowed as to why its so hard for her to remember. She lets out a groan of pain when she pushes harder only to feel like she was getting a dozen paper cuts then dowsed in lemon juice. "I can't remember." She mutters.**

 **James stares at her for a moment like she's a frog waiting to be dissected. "Hmmm progress…but its not enough." He says before injecting her with both the pink and blue liquid sending her to a whole new level of pain.**

 **They continue this process for weeks before finally one day Katlynn remembers nothing.**

 **"** **Good. Good. Now onto the Phase 3." He grins, he motions with his hands towards the door and four guards walk in "Unstrap her, get her cleaned up and fed. We have a big day in front of us tomorrow." He says before walking out.**

 **The guards unstrap her and have to practically carry her out of the room since she can barely stand form being strapped down for so long. The guards hand her to a couple of girls who help her get cleaned up and fed while they stand outside guarding her. When she's finishing with the tasteless grey mush that they call food, the guards walk back in and drag her to another room. They chain both of her arms above her head before leaving her.**

 **Kaitlynn silently studies the room, a feeling of déjà vu coming over her when she looks over to the other side, getting a feeling like someone else should be here with her, yet she can't remember. When she tires she's met with an extreme amount of pain.**

 **She doesn't know how much time has passed since she's been locked in the room, but she stands up straight when the door opens. Four guards walk in and unchain her, but her attention isn't on them its at the man behind them. She doesn't know who he is but she knows what she feels. Hate, pure and simple hate. The man smiles at her before turning around and walking out, the guards walking around her with two in front of her and two behind her.**

 **They lead her to another room, the room was slightly larger then the one she was in before and had a mat covering the ground. At one end of the room stands a man around 6 feet tall and looks like the Rock on steroids. Kaitlynn looks at the man questionably. The man motions to one of the guards who then walks up and opens a case that she didn't notice he was holding. The man opens the case and pulls out a robotic hand.**

 **"** **Give me your arm." He orders, nodding to her arm that's missing a hand. When she refuses the other guards move forward and force her to hold out her arm to him. Kaitlynn watches as the robotic hand is put in front of her arm where her hand once was, she watches as the hand clicks and turns before wrapping itself around the stub of her arm, locking in place. As soon as the hand gives a final click the guards release her, Kaitlynn stares down at her new hand in amazement, bending it and moving it around to find that it works just like a real hand.**

 **She's broken out of her amazement when the man speaks again**

 **"** **Fight him." He orders, Kaitlynn glares at him and stands straighter with her hands balled at her sides.**

 **"** **No." she says, the man sneers before motioning to the guards who push her forward almost sending her falling face first on the matt. Once she regains her balance she stands and turns to look at him.**

 **"** **Fight."**

 **"** **No."**

 **"** **Fine." He says before looking at the man behind her and nodding his head. Kaitlynn turns around and barely has time to duck when at the flying fist coming at her face. She ducks under the man's arm and rolls until she's back up on her feet. Before the man can turn around she swipes his feet out from under him and pins him down by his throat with her forearm.**

 **"** **Good. Now was that so hard?" the man from before asks with a creepy smile. "Now kill him." Kaitlynn shakes her head before pushing herself up off the man. The man gasps for air as he rolls away from her before standing up. "Kill him or suffer the consequences." He says angrily, when she still doesn't respond and continues to stare at him, he waves his hand at the guards before walking out. Kaitlynn watches as the three guards produce cattle prods from their belts. Before she can react she receives an electric shock from behind sending her sprawling onto the ground, followed by a number of punches, kicks and shocks.**


	22. Chapter 22

**_A MONTH LATER: _**

 **Kaitlynn is back in the same room as she once was all that time ago, she looks at the man in front of her, waiting for the order. As soon as she hears the whistle she attacks, quick as lighting with a series of punches and kicks blocking the man's attempts at defense. Flipping over the man's shoulders she kicks his legs out from behind him sending him to his knees before putting him in a chokehold. She looks up at the man whose been at her side since she woke, James she learned his name was, for an order.**

 **James smiles cruelly before giving a thumbs down just as the romans would at the coliseum. Kaitlynn glares at him, her whole body screaming at her about how wrong it is to kill people for no reason but she knows what will happen if she refuses. She held out for two weeks, suffering the beating and endless torture they put her through when she refused to kill her opponent. She finally gave in and started to follow his orders, binding her time until she can get her hands on him. Kaitlynn stares at him when she snaps the man's neck, imaging that it was James underneath her hands rather than the man she was fighting.**

 **"** **Good." James says to her smiling before turning to the guards "Take her back to her cell. We have big plans tomorrow. The fourth and final phase!" He says before walking away.**

 **Kaitlynn allows herself to be led back to her cell and chained up, leaving her alone with her thoughts, trying to remember who she was but as usual all she gets is pain.**

 **The next day the guards come in and take her to a room she's never been in before. The room had large cement walls and a large matt on the ground, it was just like the room she usually fought in except this one had a one-way glass window a few feet above the ground and two large doors on the other side of the room.**

 **Kaitlynn looks around the empty room confused as to what's going on, her attention is drawn when the doors on the other side open and a man who looks to be in his early 30's walks in. She feels a pang of familiarity when she looks at him, his eyes cold and unemotional as he stares her down like she's a bug waiting to be squashed.**

 **Neither one of them break eye contact as the familiar voice of Dr. James comes over the intercom and tells them to begin. The man rushes forward and throws a series of punches and kicks, Kaitlynn attempts to block them but she is soon knocked to her knees. Kaitlyn is sent sprawling backwards by a knee to the face. She rolls to the side, barely missing a punch that was heading for her head.**

 **Jumping to her feet she sends a few well aimed kicks to his ribs making him grunt in pain. She's goes to deliver the final blow, a round house kick to his face, only to have him catch it. Before she can react he grabs her foot and throws her across the room. Kaitlyn manages to do a flip in the air and land on her feet. The man growls before charging at her, Kaitlynn scowls and meets him in the middle, both of them trading blows neither one landing a hit on one another.**

 **The man grabs her arm and twists Kaitlynn around until her back is to his chest and puts her into a choke hold. Kaitlynn gasps for air before grabbing his thumb and pulling it back until it lets out a sickening crack. The man lets her go with a scream of pain, Kaitlynn the stomps on his foot before whirling around and kicking him in the stomach sending his sliding across the room.**

 **Kaitlynn stares at him breathing heavily, she gets into fighting position once again when she sees him starting to get to his feet. The man growls before pulling something out of his boot and throwing it at her, acting out of instinct she catches the object a few millimeters away from her face before realizing it's a knife. Seeing the man now a few feet away from her and closing she throws it back at him and watches as he falls to his knees as the knife sticks out of his chest.**

 **It wasn't until then that she realizes what she did. Pain explodes inside of her head, feeling like her mind is being split in two, black spots dancing across her eyes as she falls to her knees staring at the man's- his body.**

 **"** **Max." She mutters before everything falls to black.**

 **She wakes up to the sound of two voices speaking**

 **"** **Her programming is complete." A male voice says "When she wakes up she will be fully at your will and remember nothing."**

 **"** **Good." A female voice says "I would hate to have to tell him that you failed** ** _again_** **at your task."**

 **Kaitlynn opens her eyes, the pain in her head long gone. Sitting up she finds herself on top of a table with a man in a lab coat standing next to a woman in a flower dress.**

 **"** **Hello Angel." The woman says speaking softly to her almost like she was a lost child "Do you know where you are?" Kaitlynn shakes her head no, as she stares at the man. Hate burning hot in gut. "My name is Raina and I'm here to get you out of here." She says "You work for me and my employer." Kaitlynn nods as she stands up from the table.**

 **"** **What are my orders?" she asks looking at the woman, Raina smiles before turning to the man and giving her first order.**

 **"** **Kill him." She says, before the man can even speak Kaitlynn's robotic hand is around his throat, she stares into his panic filled eyes as she squeezes his neck with a sickening snap before letting his motionless body drop to the ground. It was the first kill that she didn't feel remorse over. Raina smiles sweetly at her before walking towards the door.**

 **"** **Come on Angel. We have work to do." She says, Kaitlynn spares the dead man one last look before following her out.**

Kaitlynn wakes up with a gasp, looking around she sees that she's in what looks like a motel room, alone. She lays still in the bed, listening to her heart monitor as she tries to remember what happened, like water rushing out of a dam the memories come back. Of Ward, Hydra and…Skye. Remembering that the brunette hacker is in danger, Kaitlynn sits up, ignoring the pain she feels from her abdomen and begins to pull out the wires from her arm. She shakily gets to her feet and stumbles towards the door, ignoring the loud beeping from the monitor.

She somehow manages to make it to the door, albeit out of breath as she leans against the wall next to the door for support. Just as she's about to open the door, it bursts open to reveal a frightened looking May.

"May." Kaitlynn breathes out in relief

"Kaitlynn." May sighs "What the hell are you doing?!" she asks loudly as she tries to help the girl get back to bed only to have her shake her off.

"No…we have to save…save Skye." Kaitlynn says trying to ignore the pain.

"Kaitlynn-" May tires

"-We have to save her. Ward…He's Hydra…took Skye…Hard drive." She says gasping in pain. Just as May opens her mouth to tell her that Skye is safe, the girl in question bursts into the room looking like she was going to be sick.

"Kaitlynn." Skye says in both shock and relief.

"Skye." Kaitlynn says confused, both May and Skye catch the blonde when her knees give out. Too tired to keep herself up.

"May get Simmons." Skye orders, May to worried about her trainee then to point out that she's the one who should be giving orders leaves to find Simmons, while Skye helps the blonde back to the bed.

"Your okay…" Kaitlynn says with a wince as Skye helps her lay back down.

"Yeah…you not so much." Skye mutters as she brushes a few sweat soaked strands of hair out of the blonde's face. Kaitlynn opens her mouth to respond but is cut off when Simmons and the rest of the team bursts into the room.

Simmons immediately walks over and pulls Kaitlynn's shirt up to check the wound

"At least by me dinner first before you go groping around." Kaitlynn mutters making Skye chuckle, Simmons ignores them both as she continues to look her over.

"Luckily you didn't rip any of your stitches." Simmons says as she pulls her shirt back down and begins to hook her back up to the machines. "But you lost numerous amounts of blood so you need to rest." She says

"Aye Aye Doc." Kaitlynn says tiredly, Simmons shakes her head

"I swear she's worst than Skye." She mutters before turning to the rest of the team "As for the rest of you. She'll be fine, she just needs rest. So everyone out."

"I'm glad your okay." Coulson says giving her a small smile before walking out, the rest of the team giving her words of encouragement or pats on the leg as if to prove to themselves that she's still there and alive before leaving.

"You're not leaving right?" the blonde agent asks; Skye gives her a small smile as she continues to play with her hair.

"They'd have to drag me out." She says before leaning down and giving her a kiss on her forehead "Now rest." She whispers, Kaylynn nods before allowing herself to drift off to sleep while Skye watches over her.


	23. Chapter 23

Kaitlynn wakes up gasping for air and drenched in sweat, she vaguely aware of Skye's hand rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering comforting words to her.

"You okay?" Skye asks, Kaitlynn turns to the girl and mutely nods her head, not trusting her voice. She winces as Skye helps her sit with her back against the headboard. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asks knowing that she had another nightmare. "Maybe it will help." Kaitlynn doesn't respond for a moment as she stares at the water stained ceiling of their motel room.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes taking the time to mentally prepare herself before speaking.

"When I was captured…" she says slowly "There was a man, Dr. James, he…did things." She says shakily, Skye reaches forward and intertwines her hand with hers and gives it a gentle squeeze as if to let her know she's here. "The first few months there was just him torturing me and this other guy named Max, for his own amusement. Max said that he did it to break us…but we never broke." She says as a single tear falls down her cheek. "After that he strapped us down to these tables and pumped us full of this…this drug…it made it feel like we drank acid and that our bodies were being torn apart from the inside out." She says angrily, not noticing the look of horror on Skye's face at hearing what she went through.

"The first time it was only half a dose but the full dosage…the full dosage was agonizing." She says still not meeting the hacker's eyes "He injected it into us for I don't know how long. I was in and out of consciousness at the time." She says before holding up her hand "When I fell out of the window back in Bahrain, I broke my hand and caught an infection went it was left untreated. I knew I was dying and I was happy…" She says with a sad laugh as more tears fall down her face "I wanted to die. I wanted to be free of the-the pain he was putting me in." she says "But the bastard couldn't let that happen that happen to his _favorite test subject_ …so he cut it off" She spits out, like it was a sour taste in her mouth. She wipes away a few of her tears, and for the first time turns to look at Skye "Does that make me weak? Does it make me weak that I was happy I was going to die?" she asks

Skye shakes her head as she wipes her own tears away "No. It doesn't…you are the strongest person I know." The hacker says, when Kaitlynn starts to look away she gently grabs her chin and forces the spy to look at her. "No…listen to me. You are not weak. You understand? You are the strongest and the bravest person I have ever met." She says fiercely, wiping away a few of the blonde's tears "And as for you being happy about…dying." She chokes out, hating to think about the blonde wanting that "That just makes you human. Okay?" Kaitlynn nods her head and sniffs as she wipes her tears away before continuing with her story.

"After a few weeks of healing to gather my strength for what he called the next phase, I woke up to Max screaming as James drilled a metal device into his head before he turned and drilled one into mine. That was the last time I saw Max." She says, she feels Skye squeeze her hand in comfort, allowing her to continue "After that there was more torture. He injected me with this…blue drug that blocks the memory. He tried to use electric shocks so that every time I tried to remember something my body remembered the pain. But I guess it backfired since the electric shocks were nothing compared to everything else I'd been put through." She says chuckling dryly "So after about a month of that he switched tactics and started giving me full dosages of the pink drug. And that seemed to do the trick cause after a couple times of that I completely forgot who I was."

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to." Skye says softly, seeing how hard it was on the blonde

"Might as well." Kaitlynn says shakily with a light shrug as she turn so she's facing forward again "After they successfully wiped me he tired to get me to kill these people. I always refused…I guess somewhere in my subconscious I knew that what I was doing was wrong so I kept refusing. And every time I did…I got…punished…tortured." She says, Skye locks her jaw hating what these people did to the blonde agent. "After a while I couldn't take it anymore so I gave in and followed orders. I killed people. After that they put me through the final phase to see if I was truly loyal to them…"

"Which was what?" Skye asks afraid to know the answer, Kaitlynn turns to the hacker her eyes brimming with tears.

"They made me fight Max. I didn't know who he was at the time…and by the time I remembered it was too late…I killed him." She says, the tears moving down her face, Skye scoots closer to her and wraps her arm around her in a hug. Kaitlynn buries her face in the hacker's shoulder and lets the tears stream down her face "I killed him. I stabbed him through the chest with a knife and watched as he died." She cries but still continues with her story

"And when I realized what I did, I passed out. The pain from remembering became to much. I passed out and when a I woke up James and Raina were standing over me. Raina ordered me to kill James and I did. I snapped his neck like a toothpick and I got enjoyed it. I was happy that he died that I was the one causing him pain. They ordered me to kill…god Skye I killed so many people." She cries as she squeezes her eyes closed in realization "I'm no better than Ward."

Hearing that Skye gently pulls the blonde away from her

"No. Ward made his choice okay?" Skye says gently "Kaitlynn look at me." She says quietly, she waits until the blonde opens her eyes, her eyes that were once strong and full of life were now dull and broken. Skye's heart clenched at the sight. "You are _nothing_ like Ward. He made the choice to do what he did, and he did it out of his own free will, he chose to kill Koenig, to shoot you, and to betray us. Everything he did was his decision." She says "Everything you did-what you were forced to do. Was Hydra. It wasn't you! Kaitlynn, you fought at every chance you could, you suffered through mass amounts of pain and kept fighting. Ward went through none of that he made his own choices."

"But I stopped fighting. I gave in." Kaitlynn says sadly "I gave in and let them order me to people."

"No one will blame you for giving in Kaitlynn." Skye says "Everyone else would have broken under the pain long ago while you hanged on…you fought through the most extremes amount of pain and lived. You're a fighter. _Not_ a murder." She says, Kaitlynn stares at the hacker before nodding her head. Seeing her nod her head in understanding Skye pulls her back into a hug allowing the other girl, who usually is so strong and put together, to break in her arms, knowing that she'll be there to put the other girl back together again.

Skye holds her as she cries, rubbing soothing circles on her back while whispering comforting words into her ear. Soon Skye feels Kaitlynn relax into her body and her breathing out, the hacker smiles and shifts slightly so the blonde is more comfortable while she slept but also in a position that doesn't put strain on her stitches. The hacker watches the blonde while she sleeps, running her fingers through her long blonde locks happy that she's the one Kaitlynn trusted enough to open up to and allowed herself to break down. Skye frowns when she feels the raised skin behind Kaitlyn's ear where the device once was, she silently makes a vow to herself that she will do everything in her power to keep Kaitlynn out of harms way as best she can.

Leaning forward slightly she lightly places a kiss on Kaitlynn's temple, smiling when she feels the blonde relax further into the hacker's lap.

Kaitlynn groans when she feels a pounding in her head from the crying she did earlier, feeling something warm underneath her she opens her eyes to see that she fell asleep in Skye's lap. Turning slightly, she sees that Skye is asleep with her head leaning back on the headboard. Feeling bad about falling asleep on top of the hacker, the blonde slowly sits up, wincing with the movement as she tries her best to not wake the other girl. She lets out a low curse when Skye shifts and opens her eyes to look at her.

"Hey." Skye says with a yawn "How do you feel?"

"Better…" Kaitlynn says awkwardly "I'm uh sorry…for breaking down on you like that…I shouldn't have put that on you." Skye gives her a small smile

"You don't have to apologize." She says "We all need a break sometimes. You especially." she says making the blonde smile slightly, the two girls stare at each other. Neither one sure exactly what to say. "So about this date…" Skye says trying to lighten the mood. Kaitlynn smiles.

"I guess there's no point in keeping a secret when I cant exactly go anywhere and we have both the U.S. government and Hydra looking for us." She says

"So you'll tell me?!" Skye asks excitedly

"I was planning on like…a nice dinner then maybe a movie or something…" she says with a slight blush making Skye's grin widen.

"Your blushing." She teases, Kaitlynn mock glares at her

"I don't blush." She says using her best stern voice while trying to keep the smile off her face.

"Uh-huh." Skye says knowingly before leaning over and poking her cheeks "Then what do you call that?" she asks, Kaitlynn raises an eyebrow at her.

"Did you just poke me?" she asks

"Yup." Skye asks with a pop of the 'P' "What are you going to do about it?" she asks challengingly. Kaitlynn stares at the brunette thinking about what she could do to her, she could tickle her but there's to high of a risk of her ripping her stitches so she needs another idea, she hides her smirk when she figures out what she could do.

Kaitlynn slowly leans forward, careful of her stitches, and brushes her lips against Skye before leaning forward and kissing her deeply. Skye's eyes flutter closed as she kisses Kaitlynn back full force. Kaitlynn gently bites down on Skye's lower lip, she smirks when Skye lets out a low moan before pulling away before Skye can return it.

Skye opens her eyes, her eyes glazed over slightly, to see Kaitlynn sitting there smirking at her. Skye gives her a mock glare before crossing her arms over her chest and pouting while muttering tease.

"I'm just paying back for earlier." Kaitlynn says innocently "Remember on the plane?" she says, she watches amused as recognition crosses Skye's face making the blonde laugh. Skye smiles slightly forgetting all about the teasing kiss at hearing Kaitlynn's left, loving the sound.

"What?" Kaitlynn says once she's finished laughing to see Skye staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Nothing." Skye says with a shrug, her smile still on her face "You should do that more often."

"What?"

"Laugh." Skye says simply making Kaitlynn blush. Skye smiles before leaning over and pecking Kaitlynn's lips before getting out of the bed and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kaitlynn asks confused, Skye turns around and sends her a smirk

"It's a surprise." She says as she reaches the door "Don't worry. I'll be back." She says, and just like that she was gone. Kaitlynn huffs before flopping back down in the bed, already missing the brunette hacker.

About a half hour later Skye returns smiling widely, Kaitlynn turns away from the tv where she was aimlessly flipping through channels, she raises an eyebrow at the hacker with a small smile when she notices the pizza box she was holding.

"What's this?" Kaitlynn asks once the brunettes close enough

"Pizza." Skye says as she sets it on the nearby table

"I can see that." She deadpans "I meant why are we keeping it to ourselves and not sharing it with the others."

"Because we are having a date." Skye says simply as she grabs her laptop from the bedside table and logs into her Netflix account.

"A date?" Kaylynn say making sure she heard right, Skye nods as she climbs into the bed next to the girl.

"Yea. You said you wanted to take me on a dinner and a movie right?" She asks, when the blonde agent nods she continues "Well since we can't exactly go anywhere. We are doing it from here." She says before sitting the laptop in the blonde's lap "Here you pick the movie. I'm going to get the pizza. And just so you know I'm a sucker for romantic comedies." Kaitlynn shakes her head before scrolling through the romantic comedies section before clicking on one.

"What'cha choose?" Skye asks as she climbs back into the bed, handing Kaitlynn her plate as she looks at the screen.

"50 first dates. Have you seen it?" Skye shakes her head no

"Its great, it has Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in it." She explains "Sadler plays the womanizer and falls for a girl with short-term memory loss."

"So hence 50 first dates." Skye sums up, Kaitlynn nods

"Exactly."

"Sounds good." Skye says as she reaches over and turns the light off before leaning into the blonde, not noticing the light blush on the other girls face. Kaitlynn slowly moves her arm and wraps it around Skye's shoulders so both of them are more comfortable, making Skye smile.

To be honest Kaitlynn was barely paying attention to the movie, she was too busy watching Skye. Admiring the way the light from the computer outlines the hacker's face, and how her nose and eyes crinkled when she smiled or how her laugh was so sweet that she just wanted to record it so she could listen to it over and over again.

It wasn't until Skye turned to her and started talking about how much she liked the movie did she realize that it was over.

"Umm yea." Kaitlynn says with a slight blush as she looks back at the computer "So um what do you want to watch next?" she asks, not noticing the was Skye smiles at her like she knew the whole time that she wasn't watching the movie.

"Well since you picked first I say its my turn." Skye says taking the laptop from the other girl, Kaitlynn rolls her eyes playfully and allows her to choose. About a minute later Skye sets it back in between them.

"What did you pick?"

"13 going on 30." Skye says simply "Ever seen it?"

"Bits and pieces." Kaitlynn says with a shrug.

"Good. Then you should probably watch the movie this time and not me." The hacker says teasingly, chuckling when she sees the spy blush. She leans forward and kisses the blondes cheek smirking when she sees her blush harder, deciding that making the usual tough faced blonde blush was her new favorite game.

Kaitlynn tried to watch the movie, she really did, but her attention kept getting pulled to the brunette hacker who was currently curled into her side. Running her thumb over the small bit of skin that was showing between her shirt and shorts, which really wasn't helping her focus. Every time she turned to look at the brunette, Skye would turn to her as if tensing her gaze and give her a small innocent smile acting like she had no idea what she was doing when she clearly knew.

It was halfway through the movie that Kaitlynn felt Skye's warm breath against her neck, gently movie her head she sees that the hacker was completely out. Smiling slightly at the sight she carefully picks up the laptop and their empty plates and puts the on the ground by the bed before sinking down into the bed. She winces when Skye shifts closer into her side, not liking the movement. Once she feels the brunette relax again she carefully pulls a blanket over them before moving the hacker impossibly closer into her side, kissing her forehead Kaitlynn whispers a quite goodnight before joining the other girl in sleep. The first time in a long time having no nightmares.


	24. Chapter 24

Kaitlynn wakes up to a stream of sunlight coming in from the window hitting her in the face. Shielding her face from the sun she slowly sits up, gently moving Skye's head from her shoulder to a pillow before carefully getting out of the bed. Standing at the foot of the bed, she smiles when she sees Skye snuggle into a pillow like it was her. It has been a few days since they had their date, a week since she was shot, and Jemma had cleared her for doing _light_ work. Which means no exercising, fighting, or heavy lifting. But even with her being cleared, it still doesn't stop Skye from trying to keep her from doing any physical activity at all.

Walking over to the brunette she pulls the blanket around her and leans down, giving her a kiss on the forehead knowing how hard she's been working on trying to find out where Garrett is. She finally managed to get her to take a break last night and get some sleep. Grabbing a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt Kaitlynn quickly changes before walking out, quietly closing the door behind her.

Looking down at her watch she sees that its around 11:30, since no one seemed to be up yet she decided to make her way to a nearby 7/11 to get something to eat. Walking in she waves hi to the cashier who looks about ready to die of boredom. Walking around her eyes soon zero in on a small bag of cheese puffs. Grabbing the small bag, which happened to be the last one, she begins to walk around to look for something for Skye.

Grabbing a small box of cereal and a bottle of milk for Skye before walking up to the front and laying her items down and telling the cashier she'll be right back as she goes and grabs two cups of coffee. Once she's sure that she has everything, she pays and walks back to the motel.

As soon as she walks back into her room she's bombarded with questions from a worried Skye.

"Relax. I just went to get food." She says before handing the brunette her coffee "And coffee."

"Well next time can you at least wake me up before you decide to leave?" Skye huffs

"Skye…I'm fine" Kaitlynn says as she sets the 7/11 bag down and begins to dig through it.

"I know…I know." Skye sighs as she sits down on the bed "I just worry…" she says making Kaitlynn smile.

"I know. And I am sorry for worrying you." The blonde apologizes as she sits down next to her "Next time I'll tell you before I leave."

"Thank you." Skye says with a small smile "Now. What did you buy?" Kaitlynn smiles before handing the brunette the bottle of milk and cereal.

"I love frosted flakes!" Skye says happily as she looks at the box "But…we don't have any bowls…"

"Use a cup?" Kaitlynn states although its more like a question. Skye smiles before getting up and heading to the sink where the motel left them some plastic cups. By the time Skye comes back with her cereal all made, Kaitlynn is laying back in the bed eating her cheese puffs while lazily flipping through channels.

"You know…" Skye says as she sits down on the bed next to the blonde "You never told me why your so obsessed with those." She says causing Kaitlynn to crack a smile as she settles on some cartoon.

"They remind me of happier times." She says as she looks down at the bag "My mom was a health freak so we never really got to eat junk food…my brother would buy me cheese puffs every day after school and sneak them to me." She says making Skye smile

"You never talk about your family…what happened?" the hacker asks curiously "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No. Its fine…" Kaitlynn says with a heavy sigh "I just haven't really talked about them in a while." She says before turning to look at the brunette "My mom was a nutritionist, my dad owned a gym. I used to go to the gym everyday after school to do homework while my brother trained, he wanted to be an MMA fighter." She says chuckling slightly at the memory "One day. I was like 10, my dad and my brother were on their way to pick me up from school to bring me to the gym when they were hit by a drunk driver. They died instantly. My mom blamed me for their deaths, things got rough at home. By the time I was 12 I left. I got into a underground fight club, I knew some fighting from my brother so most of the time I would win. As long as I kept winning I had a place to say so that's what I did." She say tiredly "S.H.I.E.L.D. found me when I was 15 and I've been with them since."

"Wow…so when they say you're the youngest agent S.H.I.E.L.D. ever brought in." Skye says impressed as she nods her head. Kaitlynn just smiles slightly and shrugs. "So what about you being like this amazing legend who took down like 10 agents and dismantled a bomb?" Skye asks making Kaitlynn laugh

"What?" she asks

"Simmons says that you were nicknamed the 'Guardian of S.H.I.E.L.D.' because apparently like 10 agents who went insane or something and strapped bombs to all these people and you snuck in and got shot like 5 times and still managed to save the day." Skye says telling the blonde what Simmons told her making Kaitlynn laugh all over again.

"You really shouldn't listen to what other people say because 90% of the time its wrong." The blonde chuckles

"Fine…then what did happen?"

"There were 3 guys who decided to try some brownies from the evidence locker. The brownies were pot brownies that were also laced with something." She says with a light chuckle "The idiots locked them selves and 10 others with them in the evidence locker, they some how managed to get pot and started to make the hostages smoke it… the so balled bombs were cereal boxes duck taped to the 10 'hostages' and I was only shot once when one of the guys shot the wall and it bounced off the wall and hit my thigh." Kaitlynn says "The only saving I really did was take the guns away from the 3 idiots and open a few windows. Somehow or another I guess through the years they changed the story around to make it sound cooler."

"So basically what started the whole you being the 'Guardian of S.H.I.E.L.D.' was you breaking up a bunch of guys who were tripping on brownies?"

"Yup." Kaitlynn says popping her 'P' as she finishes off her cheese curls. Skye chuckles at the blonde before picking up her laptop and renewing her search to try and find anything she can on where Garrett might be."

A little while later Fitz-Simmons along with the rest of the team walk into their room to help with the research, they managed to find some files that may help with the search. That was how the team spent the next week, searching and eating junk food as they searched for Ward and Garrett.

 **_A/N_**

 **PLEASE REVIEW! I want to know what you guys think of the story so far! If you have any ideas you think I should use in Season 2, let me know.**


	25. Chapter 25

Its been two weeks since Kaitlynn had been shot, Simmons has cleared her for duty considering they were going to need as many fighting hands as they could get. Skye, Kaitlynn, Fitz, and Simmons all sit in Kaitlynn's room trying to find a lead on Garrett. They look to the TV when a news caster does a report on a drug lord that was recently killed as they show a picture of Deathlok walking out of where the drug lord was held.

"The correct answer is D, all of the above." Fitz says as he turns off the TV, answering the news anchor's question on whether Deathlok is a man, monster or machine.

"What the hell is Deathlok doing in Bogota?" Kaitlynn asks

"And why would he kill a drug lord with known ties to Hydra?" Simmons asks

"Well, if they really are in Colombia, then Garrett and out hijacked plane aren't even in American airspace." Skye says "That means we have to expand our search."

"So more work…yaay." Kaitlynn says dryly as she goes back to looking through files. They all look up when Coulson knocks on the door and asks them to come into his room for a moment.

They walk into the room to see May finishing up a chart, taking a seat they watch as May hands the marker to Coulson who begins to explain.

"This is about everything we've been dealing with." Coulson says as he points to the board that has a large circle in the middle and 9 circles around it. The 9 circles being filled with names such as Clairvoyant, Ward & Garrett, Quinn, Hydra, The Bus, Deathlok, Centipede Serum, GH-325, and Skye's drive. "And this…connects them all." He says as he writes the word Cybertek in the middle circle. "Cybertek built Deathlok, shipped items to Quinn, who was working for the Clairvoyant who turned out to be Garrett, who planted Ward on our bus because he wanted to know why I didn't stay dead." Coulson says as he draws lines from each circle. "Should have drawn another chart for this part." He says

"No, I get it." Fitz says "Garret's been developing Centipede Serum all this time."

"Yes." Coulson says

"And he wants GH-325 as its final ingredient." Simmons says

"A way to stabilize and regenerate his Centipede soldiers." Kaitlynn adds

"And its why Ward came back for the hard drive." May says "It had all of your research about Coulson and Skye. Its all on there."

"But that's not the only thing on there." Coulson adds "Skye left them a little surprise." He points to Skye so she can explain.

"A Trojan horse. Its been slowly mapping every system they've uploaded it to." Skye says

"Well that's brilliant." Fitz says

"You can wake it up and take over their systems." Simmons says "Well done, Skye."

"Yeah thanks. Except it doesn't work that way." Skye says "Because I didn't have enough time to build it, so we need to plug this into one of their computers to activate it." She says as she holds up a flash drive.

"Spoiler alert we can't seem to find one." Kaitlynn adds

"I think we have." May says as she takes the drive with a small smile on her face "Garett and Cybertek have been working together for years. If its on Garett's system…"

"Its on Cybertek." Skye says catching on as May hands the drive to Coulson

"Which is why we're gonna go into one of their offices." May says pointing between herself and Coulson.

"We have no authority to do this." Coulson says as he hands the drive back to Skye "We're no longer S.H.I.E.L.D. agents we're…"

"We're vigilantes." Fitz says

"I was going to say 'doing this because it's the right thing to do' but…yeah." Coulson says "So if you're with me, I'm gonna finish what I started. I'll be damned if I'm let Garrett and Ward get away with murder." He says "And I want my plane back."

A little while later Skye, Kaitlynn and Fitz are sitting outside by the pool talking over the plan when Coulson walks over to them once he finishes his call with Cybertek to schedule a meeting.

"We're on with the R&D department up at Cybertek's Palo Alto offices." Coulson says stopping in front of the three former agents. Fitz groans as he lays back into his lounge chair.

"It'll be okay, Fitz." Skye says wanting to reassure him "No matter how deep they dig, they'll only find the new identities I've created."

"Its not that." Fitz says "It's the idea of giving them access to all of our designs."

"We're not actually giving them anything." Kaitlynn says "We just need to get inside so we can plug Skye's flash drive into one of their computers."

"You don't have to go." Coulson reassures seeing that the worried look is still present.

"Its not that either." Fitz says "Its Ward." He says "What if Garrett put an explosive eye into him, to control him? Maybe that's why he betrayed us."

"I'm pretty sure there's a much simpler reason." Kaitlynn says

"Yea…" Skye agrees "He's evil."

"Well I don't believe that people are born evil." Fitz argues "Something must have happened."

They all turn to Tripp whose entered the pool area carrying a yellow briefcase filled with the equipment they need to pull of the Op.

"Hey, Sorry it took so long." He apologizes as he makes his way over to them "My moms real sentimental about Granddad's Howling commando stuff." He explains as he looks down at the suitcase. Coulson smiles at the former agent before leading them back inside when the rest of the team is so they can see what Tripp managed to get them.

"Trip was generous enough to offer some of his Granddad's spy tech to help us out" Coulson says as Tripp opens up the case "So we should systematically take a full inventory of ev- Oh my god is that a handheld hypno-beam?" Coulson asks as he quickly picks up the object up, the rest of his orders no longer mattering as soon as he sees the tech.

"One of the original Betas." Tripp says "See how it has the switch on the bottom?"

"The production models moved it to the side." Coulson says "This is amazing. Almost as cool as…"

"Transistorized blast gun." Tripp and Coulson say at the same time, Kaitlynn and May both smirk at the men seeing how they're both acting like kids on Christmas day.

"Okay the two of you can get a room later, but we have a plane to catch." Skye says teasingly. Seeing Fitz about to twirl a what looks like old fashioned noise maker Coulson quickly grabs it and shakes his head no at the scientist.

"Where did they buy this stuff, from the back of a comic book?" Skye asks as she looks at what looks like a joy buzzer.

"No girl, that's not really a joy buzzer that's a-" Tripp says but is cut off when Skye presses it causing the lamps in the room to short circuit "E.M.P. knocks power out in about a 10-foot radius." he finishes, Kaitlynn bites her lip to keep from laughing at the surprised and guilty look on Skye's face. The humor dies off her face as soon as she sees May glare at her.

"A lot of vintage S.H.I.E.L.D. spy craft was designed to look innocent in case a spy was caught." Kaitlynn says

"Like these smokes." Fitz says as she takes a pack of cigarettes out of the case and takes on out and twists the top showing that's its really a laser. The team all smiles amused as they watch Fitz pretend that he's smoking.

"Thanks Tripp this is a huge help." Coulson says "Gives us a fighting chance against these bad guys."  
They all turn to Fitz when the smoke alarm begins to go off, all amusement gone from their faces when they that he accidently set the curtains on fire.

"Oh, Fitz." Simmons sighs, Fitz quickly turns off the laser and looks at the guilty

"Watch out, Hydra. Here we come." May deadpans.

_TIME SKIP: Cybertek Corp.: _

Coulson and May sit in a room with two official's from Cybertek about to explain the design that Fitz-Simmons came up with.

"I'm Ott, Senior V.P. of R&D. this is Diaz." One of the men say

"I'm Theo Tittle." Coulson says before motioning to May "This is Dr. Roum. Thanks so much for seeing us on such short notice."

"We've met with a number of other former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists recently, and I must say, thus far, we're…underwhelmed." Ott says "Hydra, on the other hand, less constrained in their thinking. And younger."

"Usually much younger." Diaz adds

"Yeah." Ott agrees making Coulson and May look at one another

"I told you we should have gone in." Fitz says through the Comm from where he's talking to Jemma inside the van.

"Oh hush…" Simmons says "May looks barely a day over…" she says pausing before making sure to speak into the mike when she remembers the other agents can hear them "30. You're gorgeous."

May smiles in knowing as she twists the pin on her sweater that's secretly going to allow Skye to look for Cybertek's computers.

_WITH SKYE: _

"Score one for the Howling Commandos." Skye says from where her, Tripp and Kaitlynn are in front of the van "Your grandpa's pin should help me locate Cybertek's mainframe."

"I didn't know they had Wi- back in the day." Tripp says from where he's leaning between the two, Kaitlynn in the driver seat while Skye's in shotgun.

"They didn't. That's the beauty of the pin. Its searches for data." Skye explains "Nobody's even scanning those frequencies for potential leaks." She says with a smile, she looks back down at her computer when it starts to beep "That's weird. I'm not finding any digital data about anything, let alone a source for it."

"How's that possible?" Kaitlynn asks

"Maybe its protected." Tripp says "Or… insulated somewhere inside?"

Kaitlynn picks up the radio and talks to the rest of the team "Guys keep them busy a minute longer." She says

_WITH COULSON: _

"Okay, now, show them the ICER bullet." Fitz instructs before telling them what to say "I designed this to be a powerful…"

"…nonlethal, and to break-break up under subcutaneous tissue." Coulson repeats as he passes them the bullet

"And my challenge was that it could only hold a dose of…" Simmons says

"…85 micrograms of dendrotoxin. He should have run the specs by me before building the molds." May finishes

"But I think we can all agree that the…" Simmons continues

"…true beauty is in my hyperconcentrated…" May repeats

"…dendrotoxin formula…" Simmons continues as Fitz tries to talk over her.

"…My cartridge case…" Fitz starts

"…Cartridge case ejection system, obviously." Coulson says

"…Concentrated dendrotoxin formula." May says "With compressed air."

Ott holds his hand up to stop the bickering

"We've seen one of these bullets before." He says as he places it back down "What did they use it with?" he asks Diaz

"The sleepy-sleep gun, I think." Diaz responds

"That's right." Ott says "Our team took this rudimentary concept and converted it into an aerosol grenade. Much more useful."

"Yes, but this is an ICER." Coulson says as he holds the bullet up, repeating what Fitz is telling him "Triple the stopping power and a much cooler…name."

"What else do you have?" Ott asks

_WITH SKYE: _

"Here we go." Skye says, just now getting the blue prints for the building "Building permits Cybertek's filed in the city. There's something funky about the fourth floor. Only one way in one way out." She says before looking up at Kaitlynn and Tripp. "Extra-reinforced security door."

"That's got to be it, right?" Tripp asks

"Coulson, May can you get to the fourth floor?" Kaitlynn says into the radio

_WITH COULSON: _

"It's a shame it didn't work out." Coulson says as they walk out of the meeting room

"It is." Ott says

"So lovely meeting you both." May says through her teeth

Coulson and May are lead to the elevator by a guard, they watch as the guard takes a key out of his pocket and turns it in a clear slot on the elevator before pressing the button for the 1st floor.

As soon as the doors close, May and Coulson go to work and knock him unconscious before hitting the button for the 4th floor.

Carefully looking around when the doors open to make sure there are no guards, seeing none they quickly pull the unconscious guard out of the elevator.

"Does your sweater itch?" May asks as they drop the guard

"A little bit." Coulson says before they begin to walk down a hallway and make a left down another. They stop when they see a guard on the other side, they all stare at one another for a moment, the guard's eyes flickering towards the red emergency phone between them before the guard takes off running towards it.

May does a series of black flips over to the guard and kicks the phone out of his hand before knocking him unconscious, catching the phone in the air before it could fall and carefully hanging it back up. Pushing her glasses back up as she turns around see Coulson walking towards her.

"I don't know if I've said it enough but…I'm glad your back." He says, May gives him a small smile. Coulson pulls out the box of laser cigarettes out of his pocket and holds them up for May to see.

"Try not to set the drapes on fire." She says with a smirk before they make their way to a steel door. Coulson cuts a square where the doorknob and lock are, opening it when it falls out to reveal a dark room.

"Skye I think I know why you couldn't find the mainframe." Coulson says as they walk in "There isn't one."

"What do you mean there isn't one?" Skye asks into the radio, having taken it from Kaitlynn

"All the files are hard copies." Coulson says as he and May stand in front of a large file room.

"That's why Granny was typing during our meeting." May says "Well we're here. Might as well look around."

"Coulson?" May calls from where she's looking through a file "Mike Peterson's file." She says handing it to him.

"How can this all be project Deathlok?" Coulson asks seeing how many files are in the cabinet "Project Deathlok 1990?" he reads before pulling it out "How far back does this thing go?" opening the cabinet he pulls out a file from 1990 and opens it "Garrett was the first Deathlok." He says as he looks trhough the file.

May and Coulson turn when they hear the sound of guards coming

"Lets go." Coulson says as they quickly put the files back "Skye, Katlynn and Tripp get ready for a large file transfer."

_WITH SKYE: _

"How large?" Skye asks

They all look forward when they see a file cabinet come crashing out of the 4th floor window.

"Does that answer your question?" Kaitlynn asks as they all quickly get out of the van.

Tripp gets out and grabs a harpoon looking gun, while Fitz-Simmons get the file cabinet, Kaitlynn backs the van up so Tripp has something to tie the other end of the rope to.

Tripp fires the arrow, which lands into the ceiling of the 4th floor and ties the other end of the rope to the front bumper. While Fitz and Simmons load the van, Coulson comes down zip lining down the rope by using his belt while May uses a bent pole.

Once everyone's inside the van, Kaitlyn floors it and heads back to the motel.

_BACK AT MOTEL: _

The team all sit outside at one of the pool tables going over the file.

"Garret started project Deathlok way back in 1990." Coulson says as he looks over the schematics "Look at this. He was patient zero."

"We've been looking at this all backwards." Kaitlynn says with a sigh finally understanding what Garrett and Ward wanted all along. "Garret doesn't just want the GH-325 for his centipede soldiers. He wants it for himself."

"So he can become a real, live boy again." Skye says catching up, Kaitlynn nods "And if he manages to create an army of programmed super soldiers for Hydra along the way, triple bonus points."

"How do we know Garrett didn't do that to Ward, too?" Fitz asks still not fully believing that Ward betrayed them out of his own free will. "Maybe he's been programmed."

"Fitz, when are you going to stop clinging to the idea that Ward's the victim and not the perpetrator?" Simmons says

"When I see something that tells me I shouldn't with my own two eyes." He says ignoring Skye's 'are you for real?' look and Kaitlynn's raised eyebrow. "We don't know all the facts."

"You want a fact, Fitz?" Skye says angrily "Ward murders people. He shot Kaitlynn. And I should have let Mike finish him when I had the chance." She says, feeling like everything is her fault "I'm stupid and… weak."

"You weren't weak." Coulson says

"You had compassion. That's harder." Kailyn agrees

"We'll find him." Coulson says as he turns back to the file, not noticing the pizza guy walk into the pool area.

"Pizza delivers for Pablo Jimenez?" the guy calls out, Coulson sits there for a moment before remembering his new identity.

"That's me." Coulson says as he gets up to pay the man. Skye sighs before storming off to go back to her room. Kaitlynn gets up to follow her but is stopped by a hand on her shoulder, looking up she sees that the hand belongs to May.

"Let her go. She needs time to think." May says as Coulson walks back over with the pizza.

Kaitlynn begrudgingly stays put, both her and her S.O. hoping that Skye would come out to join them, but she never did. May grabs two cans of soda and excuses herself from the table, wanting to talk to Skye.

"You never came out to eat." May says as she walks into the room, choosing not to mention the picture of Ward that Skye quickly exited out of when she came in.

"Not much of an appetite." Skye says, taking the can when May holds it out for her. The older woman sighs as she takes a seat on the other bed.

"Look… Fitz can't process the truth about Ward, not yet." May explains "What he said… its what he needs to believe."

"Do you think Ward's being controlled?" Skye asks after a few seconds of silence, never moving her eyes to meet Mays.

"Absolutely not." May says making Skye look up at her

"Neither do I." the hacker agrees "You know I never gave you enough credit for this whole Zen-warrior thing. But I got to admit, it'd be nice to feel nothing right now."

"You think I don't feel anything?" May asks with a small smile at how wrong Skye is

"Look at you. You're a statue. And you and Ward had a thing." Skye says slowly as if it were obvious "So if anyone should be furious-"

"I am." May says tightly "I'm furious. But I'm sure as hell not gonna waste I on a tantrum." She says "I'm gonna mine it, save it… and when we find Ward, I'm gonna use every bit of it to take him down."

"Whoa. Did you teach that to Kaitlynn?" Skye asks, May nods

"Kaitlynn is… different. She either mines it or she shuts down completely until she finally snaps." May explains "It usually ends in broken bones."

"That doesn't sound to healthy." Skye says with a slight wince

"Its not. But it doesn't happen as often as it used to."

"I wish I knew how to use that hate-fu." Skye says with a sigh

"I'm up most mornings at 5." May says, both girls turn when they hear a knock on the door to see Kaitlynn standing there awkwardly.

"Trip I.D.'d a number of Cybertek shipments that ping-ponged across the globe." She informs as she walks into the room "Brazil, Cambodia, Syria but they all ended up in Havana."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. used to have a base there." May says

"I told you we'd find him. We're going to Cuba." Kaitlynn says with a toothy smile, May rolls her eyes and says something about needing to talk to Coulson. Once May leaves Kaitlynn walks closer to the hacker.

"So…what'cha guys talk about?" Kaitlynn asks curiously, making Skye smirk

"Some embarrassing stories of you in the academy."

"Stories? Like-like what?" Kaitlynn asks nervously making Skye's smirk turn into a smile

"We didn't actually talk about you but now that I know there are some. I'll be sure to ask." The hacker says making Kaitlynn roll her eyes.

"So if it wasn't me then what did you talk about?" the blonde asks as she lays down next to brunette. Skye smiles as she starts to run her fingers through the other girl's hair.

"Ward mostly." Skye grumbles "and I think…I think I May might have invited me to teach me her hate-fu." Kaitlynn snorts

"Hate-fu?" she questions

"Yea you know all that bottling emotions then letting it all out when its time to kick some ass thing." Skye says, Kaitlynn nods her head in understanding.

"Yea… I remember learning about that." She says "Good times."

The two girls are interrupted when Coulson knocks on the door, telling them to gear up and get ready to move.

_TIME SKIP: _

"You sure you don't want anything else?" Trip asks Fitz as he's about to close up his grandfather's stuff as they get ready for their mission. "How about one of these quarter walkie-talkies?"

Kaitlynn blocks them out as she walks over to Skye whose loading up her bag.

"You okay?" Kaitlynn asks, Skye nods

"Yeah. How are you feeling?" the hacker asks motioning to the blonde's stomach knowing that underneath the shirt is a still healing bullet wound. Kaitlynn rolls her eyes as she takes the brunette's hands in hers.

"I'm fine. A little sore but nothing to worry about." She says still seeing Skye's concerned look she continues "I just finished getting checked out with Simmons, she says I'm good to go."

Skye nods her head with a sigh feeling a little bit better now that she knows that Simmons looked at her. "Sorry. I don't mean to be such a mother-hen… I just don't want you to get hurt."

"In this job we are always going to get hurt as for the mother hen thing. You are definitely not one." The blonde says making Skye smile. The girl's attention is pulled when Coulson gathers the group to explain the mission.

"We have to search for the plan on the ground. Fitz, Simmons, you have the maps. Do not engage under any circumstances. If you find the bus, call us and stand down or come back here and wait." He orders

"We'll be careful." Simmons says

"Understood, Sir." Fitz says

"Lets do it." Coulson says before they all split into different cars. Coulson, May, Skye, Kaitlynn and Tripp all getting in a cream colored van with clouds on it while Fitz-Simmons gets in another.

_TIME SKIP: _

The team, with the exception of Fitz-Simmons, watches as Tripp walks back from the barber shop.

"We're too late. They're gone." Coulson says

"They knew we were coming." May adds

"I'm not sure everyone's gone." Skye says from where she's looking at her computer "Something's generating a lot of volts in there."

"Yeah." Coulson says into his phone when it rings, Simmons informing him that they found the bus and that its at an air port outside of Abel Santamaria getting ready to leave. "We're on our way. How far is that from our location?" …. "Get of there right now. Do not engage. Wait for us back at the jump jet." He says, hanging up once Simmons agrees. "Garrett's leaving."

"We have to at least try and get over there." May says

"Or not. We still have Skye's flash drive if there really is a computer in there then we're set." Kaitlynn says

"She's right. All I have to do is plug it in and wake up the Trojan horse, and we're off to the races." Skye agrees

"Worth a shot." Tripp says

"Lets do it." Coulson says as they all start to climb out to the van and go over to the barber shop.

The team watches as Tripp slowly turns around in the room with an x-ray scanner, looking for anything that could possibly resemble a computer.

"Come on." Tripp mutters finding nothing before he notices something "Over here." He calls, facing wall "There's something behind this wall." He says, as they rest of the team walks over. "Okay I got something."

"Secret door?" Coulson asks "I got this. They're like my thing." He says with a small smile, he walks over to the wall and slowly runs his hands over the brick. Finding something out of place, he pulls it to see the wall turn into a door. "Here we go." He says before walking in, everyone with the exception of Skye pulling out a gun.

"Finally." Skye says when she sees the computer, they all turn when the lights go out to see a centipede solider standing in the doorway with a grin on his face holding the berserker staff. As a small red light comes on from the corner signaling more.

"It's a centipede soldier." Coulson says, as more and more lights come on.

"This should be interesting." Kaitlynn mutters as she slowly moves in front of Skye, warily watching the others waiting for them to make the first move.


	26. Chapter 26

"Could sure use a little light in here." Coulson says never taking his eyes off the soldiers

"I got this." Tripp says as he throws a light into the middle of the room so they can see

"So who do we talk to about getting a haircut?" Coulson sasses, Trip unloads his clip into one of the soldiers before getting knocked into a wall by another, spinning everything into chaos.

Skye runs to the computer and immediately starts the hack while everyone tries their best to fight the soldiers.

"If it isn't the cavalry." The solider holding the berserker staff says, May glares at him before kicking him in the face, sending the staff flying into the air. May catches it and lets out a grunt as the staff glows orange, feeling the hate run through her. "Don't ever call me that." She says before going back to the fight.

She fights against four centipede soldiers but it soon becomes too much for her and the staff is knocked out of her hands. She looks up to see the staff roll to Kaitlynn's feet

"Kaitlynn no!" May tries to warn but is to late when the blonde picks it up. Kaitlynn lets out a low growl as images of everything that has happened to her fills her head. She sends a glare at the closest solider who is making his way over to her, seeing her look makes him falter giving her enough time to hit him with the staff sending him crashing threw a pillar.

Seeing what happened Coulson orders her to bring the house down, Kaitlynn nods before she starts beating the crap out of every soldier that dare gets in her way or gets to close to Skye.

"Time to go!" Coulson calls as Kaitlynn starts knocking down the pillars, once the rest of the team is out Kaitlynn throws the staff at the last pillar before running to catch up with the others. Ignoring the sound of the ceiling collapsing on the soldiers trapping them.

_TIME SKIP: _

Kaitlynn opens her eyes when she feels the van come to a stop, she starts to get out of the car but is stopped by May.

"Hey. You okay?" May asks concerned

"Fine." Kaitlynn says shortly before walking onto the plane with the rest of the team following her.

As soon as Kaitlynn gets on the plane she makes her way to the bathroom, needing to feel some semblance of control.

"The Trojan horse worked." Skye says happily "It gave us access to the system we wanted. Our secret weapon, we now have eyes on their operation right in the palm of my hand."

"We'll need more than eyes to defeat Garrett." Tripp says from where May is patching him up.

They all turn to look at Coulson when he walks out of the cockpit, looking worried.

"What is it?" May asks

"Fitz-Simmons tracker crossed the ocean. Its in New Mexico."

"They managed to tag the plane?" Skye asks

"It appears so, but they're not answering." Coulson says

"No." Skye says quietly thinking the worst

"We can't think about that right now." Coulson says "They may have been captured. Either way they risked everything to put a tracker on that plane for us. Now we know exactly where Garrett is, and Skye can see what he's doing." He says "If Fitz and Simmons are still alive, then catching Garrett is our only shot at finding them."

Seeing them all agree, Tripp and May make their way into the cockpit to take off while Coulson goes god knows where, leaving Skye to play around with Hydra's systems. The hacker immedialy places her tablet down when she sees the blonde walk in.

"Hey how are you feeling?"

"Angry." Kaitlynn says simply as she takes a seat next to the brunette

"Yeah…the staff has this ability to tap into a person's inner rage or something." Skye explains as she carefully looks over the other girl, noting her stiff posture. "The more your angry the stronger you are."

"Well I have plenty of both right now." Kaitlynn grunts, she forces herself to take a deep breath and leans back into the seat. She closes her eyes trying to calm herself down, but all she sees are visons.

Her and her brother getting killed by a drunk driver in front of her, the first time her mother laid a hand on her, the first time she was forced to kill an innocent.

Kaitlynn opens her eyes when she feels something warm on her hand, looking down she sees Skye looking up at her worriedly as she holds her shaking fist. The blonde forces her fist to unclench and intertwines their fingers, she feels herself start to relax when Skye curls into her with their hands still intertwined. The brunette hacker help keeping the painful memories away.

_TIME SKIP: _

"We only get one shot at this, so lets for over the plan one more time to make sure we're clear on exactly what we're doing, okay?" Coulson says as they all gear up, yet again, as they start to reach their destination.

"Tripp, Kaitlynn and I will crest the ridge, use a noisemaker to grab a three-wheel, maybe something with fireworks, and open a window for you two." Coulson says "You crawl in, grab the dealer, force his hand. He'll get us our Ace in the hole, and then bob's your uncle."

"Roger that." Skye says as she cocks her gun

"Makes it sound easy." Tripp says

"Coulson it's a solid plan you've mapped out, but it hinges on a gamble, a big one." May says as she hands him his gun.

"And backup isn't coming." Coulson says "It'll be just the five of us. We'll be outmanned and outgunned. But Fury always said…"

"…A man can accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger." Kaitlynn says having heard it before as she straps her gun to her thigh and a knife in her boot. Coulson nods before continuing

"A team of people who share that conviction can change the world." He says "So, what do you say? You ready to change the world?"

"No. I'm ready to kick some ass." May says as she loads her weapon

"I just want to get this over with so I can go eat and sleep." Kaitlynn says with a shrug making everyone chuckle.

"That works, too." Coulson says

A little while later they land a few ways north of their destination

"Make sure to kick Ward's ass for me twice as hard." Kaitlynn says to her S.O., May smirks and nods her head.

"If I do that he may end up dead." She says making Kaitlynn shrug as she walks over to Skye whose finishing packing up her gear.

"Nervous?" the blonde asks

"About the mission? No." Skye says as she zips up her bag and turns to face the blonde "About see Ward again?... kind of."

"You don't have to be."

"Because you got my back right?" Skye asks, remembering what the blonde told her, Kaitlynn nods.

"Me as well as the rest of the team." She says making the hacker smile.

"Guess this is it." Kaitlynn says after hearing May telling them to get ready since they were about to land.

"Yeah guess it is." Skye says awkwardly, Kaitlynn gives the hacker a small smile and goes to leave but is stopped by a hand on her arm. Turning around to face the brunette she finds lips on hers, only taking a second before responding.

The girls pull away breathlessly as they lean their foreheads on one another.

"Promise that you'll come back to me." Skye says

"Always." Kaitlynn says, she gives the brunette another kiss before pulling back. Giving the brunette a wink and a smile before walking to join Coulson and Tripp.


	27. Chapter 27

_TIME SKIP: Cybertek Manufacturing Facility: _

Coulson, Tripp and Kaitlynn sit just outside the facility looking for their ride in

"Alright, what do we want?" Coulson asks

"There's a three-wheel over there." Tripp says

"Here comes a Humvee that has better fireworks." Kaitlynn adds as she passes them the binoculars.

"Hold on." Coulson says as he looks at something through the binoculars

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Tripp says seeing the army vehicle

"You bring the noisemaker?" Coulson asks

"Sir, I bring the noise maker _and_ the funk wherever I go." Tripp says making Kaitlynn snort, Tripp winds up the noise maker and throws it. They watch as the guards quickly spread out, leaving themselves open for an attack.

They quickly sneak over and take out the guards.

"Feel better?" Coulson asks as they climb into their newly acquired vehicle, after he saw take out 3 men with way more force than necessary.

"No." Kaitlynn says "But it took the edge off."

Kaitlynn gets into the driver's seat and floors it through the gate, the guard's bullets doing nothing to harm them or the vehicle. Coulson activates the missiles and fires them at the guards causing them to be launched in different directions. Kaitlynn makes a sharp turn and heads towards the building.

"You know where to put this next one?" Coulson asks as he lets Tripp have a turn to blow stuff up. Tripp nods before firing a missile through the wall, allowing May and Skye to sneak through.

Kaitlynn starts to drive towards the building but slams on the brakes when one of the centipede soldiers jumps onto the car and begins to punch the bullet proof windshield. The window cracking underneath the solider strength with every punch. Kaitlynn looks around to see cars blocking them in from every angle and the soldiers all running towards them.

"Here come the centipede soldiers." Tripp says

"These windows can't take many more hits like that." Kaitlynn says as they watch the solider continue punching.

"Lets hope they don't have to." Coulson says as he begins to unbuckle

"Time for the guns?" Tripp asks seeing them beginning ot punch the windows from all angels

"Time for the guns." Coulson agrees as they pull out their weapons getting ready to fire if needed.

They watch as the soldiers suddenly freeze before slowly standing up and walking away.

"They did it." Kaitlynn says

"They're off to defend Garrett." Tripp says

"And lead me right to him." Coulson says "When I'm inside contact the arm forces. Make some noise on the way out." He orders before climbing out of the car.

"I'm going with you." Kaitlynn says "You'll need back up." She says before climbing out also.

"Tripp, if the rest of us don't make it, I still want this place to burn." Coulson says

"I prefer you make it sir." Tripp says

"Me too." He says before he and Kaitlynn leave to follow the soldiers to where Garrett is.

"Skye we need an entrance." Coulson says into his radio

"Looks like the back entrance to the factory floor is on the south side."

"Roger that." Coulson says before the two agents take off the where Skye told them.

Kaitlyn and Coulson arrive at the factory floor to see a few guards, Garrett and Mike inside.

"Noise maker?" Kaitlynn asks

"Noise maker." Coulson agrees, before taking one out of his pocket and throwing it. Kaitlynn rushes to the confused guards to take them out while Coulson heads to Garrett.

Kaitlynn manages to take out 4 guards but is soon overwhelmed.

"Kaitlynn duck!" she hears Coulson yell, turning around she sees him holding a gun she didn't see him have before. Quickly dropping to the ground as Coulson fires at the five guards gaining on her. He quickly takes out the rest and goes to shoot Garrett but finds he's out of juice.

Kaitlynn watches from the ground in shock and confusion as a supposedly dead Nick Fury comes out and unloads a clip into Garrett. They watch in shock as Garrett just smiles and stands up, fully healed.

Kaitlynn stands up as well and pulls out her knife, having lost her gun in the fight with the guards, not like its going to do much but she feels safer having a weapon in hand. The blonde watches Garrett and Mike warily.

"Fury… well, hell…. When was the last item anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with five dead people" Garrett says

"I only see one." Coulson says with a smirk

"Oh the powers all on this side of the room, fellas." Garrett says "Phil, I'm surprised you'd try and stop me. Of course I don't blame _you_ , Nick or you Kaitlynn. You haven't seen the big picture, the big bang, the timeless frozen ocean, but Phil here has." He says, the crazed smile never leaving his face "We share a bond. We're blood brothers."

Coulson, Kaitlynn and Fury all stare at him.

"You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy." Fury says

"He's really stepped it up a notch." Coulson says

"I'd say about five notches." Kaitlynn adds

"You remember that speech you used to give us, Nick, about how one man can accomplish anything once he realizes he can be something bigger?" Garrett asks "Well now I am."

"A part- A _part_ of something bigger." Fury clarifies

"Is that how it went?" Garrett asks

"Not a great listener." Coulson says

"Obviously." Kaitlynn says

"If you tell me this whole Hydra path thing you took is because you misheard my damn 'one man' speech…" Fury says only to be cut off by Garrett.

"I am the key to the future of the universe." He says "I'm the origin of all things."

"You guys got it, right?" Fury asks

"Totally." Coulson says

"Loud and clear." Kaitlynn adds

Garrett points at Mike then points at the three former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, motioning for him to kill them. Mike points his arm at them as his eye begins to go red.

"Fury was teaching us something you didn't want to hear, John, because you only think about yourself." Coulson says, all of them ignoring Mike who is pointing a missile at them. "that's the difference between your side and our side and why we're always gonna win."

"What lesson Phil?" Garrett asks "Please enlighten me."

Mike turns his missile onto Garrett as soon as he gets the message from Ace saying their a team. The all stare wide eyed as the missile hits Garrett in the chest, throwing him backwards yet not killing him.

"You cant do this, Mike." Garrett says, his face burnt. Mike ignores him and continues to walk forward "I order you to stand down!" When Mike keeps moving Garret slowly begins to crawls towards a gun lying in a dead guard's hand "You must obey me! You need me to translate the words of creation." He says as he finally reaches the gun. "Tell him Phil!"

"Mr. Peterson's free to do whatever he wants." Coulson says. They watch as Mike slams his boot down into Garret's neck, killing him. Fury stares at the corpse with an expression that reads 'DAMN!'.

"You think he learned his lesson?" Fury asks

"He learned something." Kaitlynn says

Coulson, Kaitlynn and Tripp watch as the national guard rounds up the Hydra agents and leads them out.

"Without regular injections, they're just men." Coulson says as they watch the centipede solders be led out. "Once doctors remove their Cybernetic eyes, they'll be essentially back to normal."

"Minus an eye, of course." Kaitlynn says as she stares after the soldiers with a grim frown, knowing that with what those soldiers had gone through that they'll never be the same. Her frown soon turns into a glare when May stops Ward in front of them.

"You get a chance to express all your feeling?" Coulson asks seeing Ward all bruised and battered.

"Is he still breathing?" May asks making Kaitlynn snicker

"Guess she kept some of it to herself." The blonde says, May smirks as she walks over to stand by Coulson, leaving Ward to the guard.

"He's having trouble speaking. I think I fractured his larynx." She says

"Oh good." Coulson says as he takes a step into Ward's personal space. "Your attempt to cross off Fitz and Simmons failed, but Fitz may never be the same again. So I'm going to invent new ways to ruin the rest of your life." He says "And we'll do whatever necessary to get Hydra intel from you but your torture, that'll be internal."

"And a little external." Kaitlynn adds, wanting to at least get hit Ward a few time for shooting her and kidnapping Skye.

"Sure. Some of that." Coulson agrees "But you devoted your entire life to a deranges narcissist who never gave a damn about anyone, and now he's dead." He says "You've got the rest of your life to wrestle with the question, who are you without him?" The two men stare at one another before Coulson nods his head to the guard signaling him to take Ward away.

Kaitlynn looks around and notices a person missing from their team

"Where's Skye?" she asks

"I asked her to bring in Mike Peterson." Coulson says "She should be out front." Kaitlynn nods before walking out of the building to find the hacker.

Walking out she spots Ace running towards his Aunt, she lets out a small smile at the sight. Feeling eyes on her she looks around to spot two barely visible figures up o a hill looking down at the same scene she was watching. She watches when a few minutes later the larger of the figures walks away and the other makes its way towards her.

"How'd it go?" Kaitlynn asks once Skye is close enough

"He says he's going to be making amends for everything." Skye says with a tired sigh as they make their way back to where the team is.

"So much for bringing him in" Kaitlynn mutters as she intertwines their hands. Skye looks down at their hands and smiles before looking back up at the blonde.

"Do you think Coulson will be mad?"

"Nah he kind of figured he wouldn't come in anyways." Kaitlynn says with a shrug "besides we have access to all his hardware if we ever need him." She says as they walk into the room where the team is takin inventory of all the weapons Garrett took.

"Hey guys! I found it." Coulson calls from the other room before walking in carrying the plasma particle beam "Told ya it would be in there." He says as he sets it down on the ground "Also… Garrett is kind of… everywhere." Kaitlynn raises an eyebrow when hearing that.

"How-? What-?... you know what I don't want to know." She says before looking around at everything they collected "So uh what are we going to do with all this stuff?"

"Leave that to me." A voice says, they all turn around to see Fury standing there. "Kaitlynn I heard you were back from the dead."

"I see I'm not the only one." Kaitlynn says with a smirk as she shakes his hand "So what's the plan sir?"

"Please don't call me that. I look like someone who just crawled out of a sewer." Fury says making Kaitlynn smirk "As for the plan. I believe me and Coulson need to have a chat." He says, everyone turns to look at Coulson who nods.

"That we do."


	28. Chapter 28

_TIME SKIP: ON THE PLANE: _

Back on the bus Coulson, Fury, May and Kaitlynn are all gathered in Coulson's office listening to Coulson rant about how stupid Fury was for bring him back from the dead.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, and cruel and very stupid!" Coulson yells

"I think you've made your point." Fury interrupts

"Why bring me back in the first place?" Coulson asks "Clearly, I didn't think it was the best idea. I warned you about people losing their minds"

"Agent May was on top of the situation." Fury says calmly "She says you're fine. Aren't you?" he says when Coulson shrugs, Fury continues. "It was a 'Break glass in case of emergency' situation."

"Yes, but that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger." Coulson argues

"Exactly." Fury says

Kaitlynn smirks when she sees Coulson's face knowing that he's imagining himself fighting along side the rest of the avengers, or more specifically Captain America.

"And I'm damn glad I did it, too." Fury continues "When you want to build something, you need a strong foundation. Now, you know how few people I trust, Coulson."

"You can count them on one hand." Coulson says

"And I'm not afraid to cut off fingers." Fury says "The principle S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded upon was pure."

"Protection." Kaitlynn says

"Protection. One word." Fury says "Sometimes to protect one man against himself. Other times to protect the planet against an alien invasion from another universe. It's a broad job description."

"No need to tell me." Coulson says

"But the belief that drives us all is the same, whether its one man or all mankind."

"That they're all worth saving." Coulson says, Fury stares at him for a minute getting up from his chair.

"That truth lives inside you, Coulson." Fury says "Before it was torn apart, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lot of moving parts. Guys like you were the heart of it."

Kaitlynn and May look between the two men wondering just what Fury was getting at.

"Now… you'll be the head." Fury says as he holds out a small black box to him.

"What is it?" Kaitlynn asks, ignoring the glare May throws her for interrupting.

"A toolbox." Fury says with a smirk "To help Coulson rebuild."

"You want me to start over, rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson says shocked

"From scratch." Fury says with a nod "Take your time and do I right." He says before turning towards May and Kaitlynn.

"You two still have his back."

"Of course." May says while Kaitlynn just nods

"There's no one else I trust with this." Fury says

"Thank you, sir." Coulson says "How do you- how should I proceed?"

"That's up to you…" Fury says "Director." He says as he holds out his hand to shake. Coulson looks at it before taking it. Still in shock from everything.

"And you sir, where are you heading now?" May asks when Fury starts to head for the door

"Well I'm traveling in my bird's eye view for two solid feet on the ground." He says "This is the last time you'll be seeing me for a stretch."

"You're gonna disappear, nowhere to be found." Coulson says

"Nowhere?" Fury says with a chuckle "You know me better than that, Phil." He says as he heads to the door again only to turn around and pull down his sunglasses enough so they can see his one brown eye while the other is grey "I'll be everywhere." He says before walking away to get on his jet which is attached to the top of the plane.

"Always has to be so dramatic." Kaitlynn says with a roll of her eyes before walking out, leaving May to deal with a gushing Coulson about how he'd the new director and how he's going to change S.H.I.E.L.D.

A few minutes later the team lands at the coordinates that Coulson found in the box for another secret base, they all stand in the cargo bay as the door slowly opens to reveal Simmons standing there. The team all quickly moves towards her, Skye getting there first and pulls the red head scientist into a hug.

"Fitz is he okay?" Skye asks worriedly as she pulls away "Please tell me he's okay."

"He's alive." Simmons says simply, trying to hold back tears. They all nod, knowing how much of a difference there is between alive and okay.

"What is this place?" Kaitlynn asks not wanting to think about what happened.

"First thing I found in that box was these coordinates." Coulson says "Another secret base?" he asks Simmons.

"I call it the playground, although, technically, it doesn't have a name because it, technically, it does exist. It being a secret base and all." The team all turns to see Eric or someone who looks like Eric standing there.

"Eric?" Skye asks voicing all of their confusion

"Billy… Koenig, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., although I totally understand the confusion." He says in a so Eric-like way. "Eric passes away, sadly, but its great to have company, finally, and I did not mind minding this place."

"Agent Coulson." Coulson introduces, all of them still weirded out by the likeness of the brothers.

"I know. I know." Koenig say as he walks up to shake his hand "And it is an honor to meet you, sir." He says as he shakes his hand vigorously. "I'll get your lanyard. Shortly. For the rest of you, landyards will be handed out on a case by case basis." He says as he looks at them all suspiciously before turning back to Coulson "Cant be too careful with all those Hydra threats still out there, causing trouble." he says "That's why we're here get you up and running and back fighting the good fight, which is gonna be cool. I know we don't have much, but what we have is yours, sir."

"Thank you."

"So… where would you like to start?" Koenig asks as he begins to walk away to show them around.

"How about the kitchen." Kaitlynn says "Cause I don't know about you guys but I'm starving and in need of a nap." She says making Skye roll her eyes.

"Oh I am right there with you girl." Tripp says

"The kitchen is down the hall on your right." Koenig says as he leads them there, Kaitlynn grins as she takes Skye's hand.

"I really hope he has cheese curls." She says under her breath making Skye laugh as they walk into the kitchen, neither one of them noticing May and Coulson watching over them with small smiles.

"We made it." May says

"We did." Coulson says as they watch Koenig and Kaitlynn argue back and forth about cheese curls while Tripp and Skye watch on with large grins on their faces.

"So…" May says with a smirk when Coulson turns to her "What's the plan now… Director."

 **A/N: Okay so this is the last chapter for Dark Angel! I want to thank everyone whose kept with the story so far, you guys are amazing! I will continue with a sequel for season 2 but I'm not sure when I'll put it up or what I'm going to name it yet. I'm thinking about 'The Great Change' if you guys could think of a better one that would help tons haha. Also if you guys have any ideas for season 2 you may like to see in the story I'd love to read them.**


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